


The Anomaly

by LeightAiden777



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Reincarnation, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2018-09-19 20:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9459200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeightAiden777/pseuds/LeightAiden777
Summary: When two angry souls find each other and one is a girl from another world who is murdered and finds herself being reborn in a world where it is normal for people to catch fire. Literally. Did I mention that said girl is now a boy?Warning: OC (not Self-insert), Slash, Yaoi, BoyXboy, Reincarnation, Language





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Title: The Anomaly  
> Genre: Romance, Angst  
> Pairing: Xanxus X OMC  
> Summary: When two angry souls find each other and one is a girl from another world who is murdered and finds herself being reborn in a world where it is normal for people to catch fire. Literally. Did I mention that said girl is now a boy?  
> Warning: OC (not Self-insert), Slash, Yaoi, BoyXboy, Reincarnation, Language

**Title: The Anomaly** ****  
Genre: Romance, Angst  
Pairing: Xanxus X OMC  
Summary: When two angry souls find each other and one is a girl from another world who is murdered and finds herself being reborn in a world where it is normal for people to catch fire. Literally. Did I mention that said  _girl_  is now a  _boy_?  
Warning: OC (not Self-insert), Slash, Yaoi, BoyXboy, Reincarnation, Language

**Prologue**

She had a happy life, really she did. She had great parents, an awesome little sister and the best boyfriend ever; except said boyfriend thought it would be a good idea to cheat on her with her own  _sister_. She never knew, oh she never knew about their sordid affair until the day she died – the day her sister snapped and had enough of hiding her relationship.  _She_  decided it would be a good idea to kill her,  _her_  own sister whom  _she_  had grown up with and shared everything since they had been together in their mother's womb.

Her sister did not miss telling her all about  _her_  reasons for doing this as  _she_  carved into her body with a kitchen knife, a crazed look in  _her_  usually cheerful blue eyes.

Jealousy could do many things.

As her last breath left her she could not prevent the single tear from sliding down her cheek, one single thought going through her mind,  _'Where did I go wrong?'_

Sawada Naoki was always a strange child. He was quiet and had no friends, always observing everyone around him with eerie, intelligent icy blue eyes. His older twin brother though was clumsy and dubbed 'Dame-Tsuna' for being good in absolutely nothing except getting himself bullied. However, being twins should they not be close? Should they not help each other out and stand up to the outside world together?

Not likely.

The younger twin was always aloof, keeping everyone at arm's length, including his brother and his own mother. But if one truly knew him it would be understandable. After all before being born he had been a girl tortured and murdered by her own sister, someone she had strongly trusted and loved.

No wonder Naoki was wary of letting anyone close to him despite how lonely it was. He would not allow anyone to hurt him again. And for this he made sure not to get attached to anyone.

The first time Naoki realized that there was something different with the place he had found himself being reborn in he was three. His father – some kind of real idiot – brought his boss to their house from overseas.

At first there was nothing that really made suspicion perk up. They met up with the man at the airport where he landed after his flight from Italy. Nana was particularly ecstatic and his brother… Well, Tsunayoshi shyly hid behind Nana. Naoki, however, did not know what to do with himself. He just stood there beside Nana, the large baby story book he had been trying to decipher held tight in his arms, wishing he could go back to his room to continue reading. Or trying anyway.

After three years of living in where he had deduced was Japan he had learned or adapted enough to the language that he could at least understand the basic of the basics of what was being said around him. He had made Nana read to him at night before bed and had memorized some of the writings. He only needed to expand his vocabulary and he was determined to be as independent as he could be as soon as possible, and it would not be possible if his study time was taken by those people.

He silently watched on the sidelines as the old man crouched to Tsunayoshi and his level and smiled, presenting himself as Iemitsu's boss whom he simply called Nono and the twins were asked to call grandfather.

When they were back at the house, Iemitsu thought it would be a good idea to pick one of his sons and throw him in the air. Fortunately enough the man picked Tsunayoshi, and Naoki was even more thankful when the man failed to catch him. Naoki was decidedly unimpressed.

The saying 'birds of a feather flock together' really applied there as Naoki stared at the cooing Nana, the laughing Iemitsu and the crying Tsunayoshi.

' _Idiots, the lot of them,'_  thought Naoki as he slipped away from the 'happy' family.  _'Better stay far away from them or I'll be infected by their germs,'_  a snide voice commented from the back of his mind and Naoki could not help but agree.

He did not see the curious aged eyes that followed him as he slowly climbed up the stairs.

It was later in the afternoon that he realized that he really was in one crazy world.

He heard a commotion outside and obviously went to see what was happening from the window in the nursery.

What he saw shocked him to the core.

He saw Tsunayoshi falling from a tree and getting 'saved' as he  _caught fire_.

The fire of a familiar deep  _orange_  colour. Not even the usual colour of normal fire.

He saw how 'grandfather' put a finger to Tsunayoshi's forehead.

A finger glowing of the same strange orange fire.

He saw a group of suspicious men dressed in suits and dark sunglasses join the man and Iemitsu after Nana got the sleeping Tsunayoshi back in the house.

Stunned and suspicious could not even begin to explain how Naoki felt but it helped to confirm something in his mind.

_No one was to be trusted._

 


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

Naoki always knew that he was different from other people. After all it was definitely not normal for someone to remember dying and then being reborn. However he had a goal to reach; he was going to make himself successful to be able to get far - _far_ \- away from his new family because _they_ were even more different than he was.

His mother, though quite pretty and kind, was the epitome of naïve and oblivious. She was the stereotypical blond, except she was a brunette. His brother, his older twin, was the perfect definition of clumsy and stupid. Tsunayoshi always – _always_ – somehow found himself in some kind of embarrassing situation, whether it was not understanding the concept of 1 + 1 = 2 even after a whole year or tripping on thin air and into someone.

Then there was his father who was supposedly a construction worker, and who, for some reason or another, _sent home lots of money when it should not be likely and worked with suspicious people that reminded Naoki of those gangster movies he had watched in his previous life._

Well, there was that and all three of them were idiots. Naoki could not stand idiots. That was why he preferred to stay as far away from them as possible. Thus, the only times he did see them was during dinner –well, Nana and Tsunayoshi anyway since Iemitsu was rarely home and when he was he usually spent his time drinking and sleeping, or dragging the family for some stupid outing during which Naoki usually made sure to remain under his radar. Sometimes he pitied Tsunayoshi for having to deal with Iemitsu's utter stupidity. But really, better him than Naoki.

He did not talk to them much; he replied in short clipped tones when Nana asked him questions but otherwise he stayed silent. He was not an idiot; he knew that even if he held a strong revulsion towards them, a small _tiny_ part of himself held a soft spot for them. No one could live and grow up with someone without becoming fond of them. But he did not want to; he refused to get close to anyone, fearing for the past to repeat itself.

Instead Naoki was determined to get as far away from them as possible, as soon as he could. He had to wait until he was at least eighteen to leave the Sawada household however but until then he could still have a good base for later in life. It was not hard for him to get good grades in all subjects since he had already done it all in his previous life and even then he had been good in academics.

Not that it was not boring though. He already knew what they taught at school and he had no friends. Life was boring, lonely and repetitive. But he would get through. He _always_ got through.

* * *

Naoki was in his first year of middle school when life really did start to change and at that time he was unsure if it was in a good or bad way.

On that day everything started like usual. Naoki woke up with his alarm blaring in his ears and prepared for the day. He was already downstairs eating breakfast when Tsunayoshi stumbled his way down the stairs and fell flat on his face.

It was… disappointing to be related to such a clumsy idiot. _'He is nothing like h-'_ Immediately stopping his trail of thoughts, Naoki turned back to his breakfast, his eyebrows furrowing in irritation. He resisted the urge to glare as the last time he had done so Tsunayoshi had caught his eyes and promptly let out a piercing shriek. Naoki actually would like to have his eardrums intact.

Naoki quickly finished his breakfast and with a mumbled good bye left the house after putting on his shoes. As he exited the small gate outside the house he felt a shiver go down his spine and a trickle at the back of his neck. He stopped momentarily in slight surprise and looked around in confusion.

' _What on Earth…?'_ with a shake of his head, he continued on his way to school. _'Whatever.'_

* * *

The number one Hitman in the world was really annoyed. He found himself in Japan, in a small town and on his way to training the tenth boss of the Vongola Family. Oh, he did not mind helping the ninth when the man had asked for this favor but really, did the Vongola heir have to be that idiot Iemitsu's spawn?

Apparently the boy was even as useless and good at nothing as useless-Dino. He had already done it once and Reborn did not feel like repeating it all over again, though he had to admit that he was proud of his student when he turned out to become such a good boss. Not that he would ever say this out loud and anyway, Dino was still useless without his subordinates.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was just as clumsy as and perhaps even more useless than Dino. The boy was  _way_ lower than average in academics, was practically a lost cause in sports and had no friends. Well, at least Reborn was going to have fun in tortu – _tutoring_ the brat.

He also had to fit the rest of the Sawada family into his plans. For Nana, stupid-Iemitsu's wife, it was quite easy. The woman was oblivious and naïve and would most likely believe anything from Reborn's mouth. Then there was Iemitsu's other spawn, the younger twin.

He was a little surprised at how different the twins were. Sawada Naoki was the complete opposite of Sawada Tsunayoshi. That one was actually quite good academically, slightly higher than average at sports and far from clumsy. However, they were both similar in that they had no friends.

Reborn was confused at first why Nono chose the older twin as his heir until the man himself told him why; the boy had literally no close bonds to anyone, not even his own family. The boy even seemed to prefer to stay far from anyone. Then there was the older twin. Dame-Tsuna might be clumsy and useless but the boy had potential. He had strong sky flames, even at a younger age and was kind to a fault. Naoki on the other hand… seemed to care for no one but himself.

Between the useless but kind boy (who had a strong, if not uncanny, resemblance to Primo) or the genius child who seemed to like no one, the choice was quite obvious. There was no need to hand over the most influential and powerful mafia family to a potentially powerful sociopath. No one wanted to deal with _that_.

Well it did not matter to him. His job was to train the older twin into a good little mafia boss while hiding the truth from Nana and Naoki.

Suddenly his thoughts came to a halt as the front door of the house he was observing from his perch on a nearby tree, waiting for the opportune moment to reveal himself to his next victim –ahem – _student_ , opened and out came someone that made Reborn almost do a double-take. If he had not been sure that stupid-Iemitsu had no daughter then he would have sworn that the person that exited the house was female.

_Shoulder-length straight blond hair?_ Check.

_Blue eyes?_ Check.

_Male Namimori Middle School uniform?_ Check.

Well, hello, Sawada Naoki.

If Reborn had been allowed to inform the boy of the mafia then he would have loved to turn him into a good spy/assassin. With his looks the boy would be able to pretend to be the perfect harmless delicate _woman._

Then the boy reached the tree he was hiding in and paused, eyes roaming around him, as if _searching for something he could not see_.

As Reborn stared at the boy's retreating back he could not help the disappointment in not being able to turn the boy into the perfect little Mafioso. He could see the potential in the graceful calculated steps and besides, he seemed to have good instincts.

Oh, well, time to meet his new student.

* * *

To Naoki, school that day was weird, really weird, and Tsunayoshi of all people seemed to be the center of the chaos. He had been sitting quietly in his seat in his classroom, waiting for the bell to ring when some kind of commotion seemed to take place. He was… surprised when he heard that his brother came to school in his underwear and asked Sasagawa Kyoko, the school female idol, to go out with him. Oh, Naoki had known that the boy was infatuated with the air-headed girl. However, he had never thought that shy, clumsy Tsunayoshi would get the courage to confess to the girl. Though, why would he ask the girl _in his underwear_ was beyond him.

' _What on Earth goes on in that mind of his?'_ Naoki silently asked himself, not knowing if he should be amused or embarrassed at being related to such a walking embarrassment.

He chose amusement when Tsunayoshi finally entered the classroom only to be faced by teasing from their classmates. _'Heh. Idiot,'_ he thought as he noticed Tsunayoshi's mortified face. _'You should not have done it if you did not want to be made fun of.'_ Yes, his twin was a moron.

* * *

During lunch everyone went to the gym to witness the kendo match between the Captain of the Kendo club, Mochida Kensuke, and Sawada Tsunayoshi, AKA Dame-Tsuna. Apparently Mochida did not appreciate having the younger boy confess to the Sasagawa girl in such a way and challenged Tsunayoshi to a duel.

Naoki was not worried for his twin. No. He was not. He was only going to the gym because he was bored. Why would he be worried for such a failure as a brother?

Tsunayoshi was going to be completely humiliated.

… and annihilated.

Naoki stood among the other students, waiting for Tsunayoshi to appear. He half-hoped that the idiot-boy would actually have some common sense and refuse to come for some childish duel. His unconscious hope was squashed when said idiot entered the gym.

' _Idiot,'_ thought Naoki, a small frown making its way on his face.

He did not realize that he was clenching his teeth so hard or that his hands were digging into his arms when the match started. It was clear Tsunayoshi was overwhelmed and at a disadvantage. How could no one see how he was practically being beaten into the ground?

Then everything changed, starting with the Sasagawa girl yelling an encouragement to Tsunayoshi. Naoki almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a gunshot. His eyes widened and his face paled when he saw Tsunayoshi falling backwards, his own eyes dulling. He swayed on his feet, his vision tunneling.

Around him the other students were yelling insults at the downed boy, commenting on how useless he was. _How could they not see what was right in front of them?_

Suddenly Tsunayoshi seemed to burst out of his clothes, a crazed look on his face, yelling something that Naoki did not hear, too busy preventing his legs from collapsing under him in relief and shock. He gripped the railing in front of him and swallowed harshly. He did not stay to see the rest of the match. When his feet were stable under him, he promptly rushed out of the gym, not noticing the silver-haired boy standing outside the door.

He did not bother to remain in his classroom to wait for class to start again. Instead he grabbed his bag and ran from school, sneaking out from behind one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee members' back. When he reached his house, Naoki did not bother calling out to Nana. He rushed to his room and closed the door behind him.

Only when he was safely inside his safe haven that he allowed his legs to collapse under him. He wrapped his arms around his folded legs and rocked back and forth, his blue eyes staring blankly at a spot on the wall.

He could not help his mind flashing back to what had happened earlier.

There was a gunshot. He was sure of it.

Then Tsunayoshi seemed to d-die before waking? – up and –

His thoughts came to a screeching halt. His body stopped all movements.

Yes, he was sure of it; there had been a flame flickering over Tsunayoshi's forehead. _Of a familiar orange colour._

* * *

Reborn smirked at a job well-done as he watched his new student being praised and cheered by the whole student body. However, his mind was not solely on the older Sawada twin, but instead on the younger one. He had kept the teenager not far from his line of vision when he had realized that he had actually come to see the match between Mochida and Tsuna. By his character Reborn had been certain that he would not have bothered but he had actually showed up.

His reaction to the Dying Will Bullet being fired had peeked Reborn's curiosity. There was no way the child – well, not so much a _child_ but whatever – could have heard it as the silencer was there especially so that none of the student body heard it. There was no need for civilians to know what was going on after all.

But it seemed as if Sawada Naoki had. And his reaction when Tsuna 'died' was particularly interesting. It would seem like the 'uncaring' Naoki actually did care. Interesting indeed. However, what was more interesting was when Tsuna had gone in the Dying Will Mode. The emotions that had flashed across Naoki's face and eyes were intriguing. His face had showed shock and relief. But his eyes… his eyes had showed recognition and then horror – pure terrifying horror.

Charcoal eyes narrowed in thought as the sniper gun turned into a green chameleon. There was something strange with that kid. Reborn did not know what but he was going to find out. At least he was sure that he did not know anything about the mafia, so his side-investigation would not actually go against Nono's orders.

Sawada Naoki was an interesting kid so far. Well, the brat could prove to be an entertainment while Reborn trained the other brat.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Naoki could not help but stare, his face blank but his eyes showing his utter disbelief. It was not the fact that his mother had called a home tutor to teach his useless, pathetic brother that shocked him; Tsunayoshi was an idiot after all and a home tutor might help him if a little. What did surprise him was the fact that said tutor was a _baby_. And not any baby but one dressed in a suit, with a fedora, and perfect vocabulary. A little too perfect for one his age.

In other words a genius baby was going to teach his stupid brother in exchange of accommodations. Either said baby was a runaway baby (which seemed highly ridiculous) or it was acceptable in this new world to have babies working. Or something like this.

Naoki blinked at the charcoal eyes staring at him before turning back to his dinner. Whatever stupidity was going to take place he wanted nothing to do with it. _'Who names their child Reborn anyway?'_ He froze for a moment before he continued to eat though much more distracted as he lost himself in thoughts. _'What if he is like me? There is a possibility,'_ he thought as he glanced at the baby who was stealing some food from Tsunayoshi's plate while said boy screamed his discontent. _'I don't think it is natural for children this age to be this intelligent. He does not seem to be of Japanese blood either. Either he has lived in japan and learned the language this way or he_ is _a foreigner and has lived abroad. I don't think any child as young should be able to know different languages as well. Except if they are really intelligent, genius level intelligent. Then again he does not act much like a child either.'_

Either way it would be best for him to stay away from the creepy baby. As innocent as he seemed Naoki had a feeling he was far from it. This thought was confirmed when he saw said baby kick Tsunayoshi so hard in the stomach he collapsed on the floor. Naoki paled. Children should _not_ be that strong.

He quickly finished his dinner and left to lock himself in his room. As he had thought, it would be better to stay far away from the creepy baby.

* * *

Really, he should have known that after Tsunayoshi's little match with Mochida some things were going to change. There was a volleyball match his brother needed to participate in but since he was only a reserve he thought that he would be spared the bore. However, it was not the case; for some reason the whole team got food poisoning, leaving Tsunayoshi with no other option but to participate and Naoki unable to escape to the roof for an impromptu nap since he knew he would be unable to truly relax while he knew the idiot was going to get himself pummeled.

Not that he was _concerned_ or anything! He just really did not want to have to bear with Tsunayoshi whining back at the house. He would prefer to have some warnings before and be prepared for it instead. He was not concerned, really. Why would he be? He did not particularly like his brother. Naoki sincerely thought he would run away or something. Instead he came, to his brother's stunned surprise, though trembling, and joined in the match.

As expected Tsunayoshi was as clumsy as usual and practically useless. A part of Naoki was disappointed. Tsunayoshi had been doing well in terms of confidence; he had gained some after his match with Mochida, and his reputation had taken a sudden rise throughout the school. It was not particularly surprising; teenagers their age were particularly fickle. It might have done him some good but maybe he had also gotten a big head because of this.

With a sigh Naoki turned and left the gymnasium when it became apparent the physically older twin was not going to rejoin the match. What a waste of time.

At the end of the day he realized that he might have missed something since everyone was talking about how Tsunayoshi had won the match for his team by sacrificing his manhood.

What was he thinking? This did not seem like something Tsunayoshi would do. He was a coward and the thought of a little pain terrified him.

Things… were starting to become highly confusing.

* * *

The next day there was a new addition to their class, an Italian teenager who for some reason had moved to their small town. He had silver hair and was dressed like a delinquent, a fierce scowl on his otherwise attractive face. Naoki twitched slightly as the boy kicked Tsunayoshi's. In surprise! Not concern and righteous anger of course! Then he proceeded to ignore the two of them for the rest of the day. He was _not_ concerned. He did _not_ care for Tsunayoshi. Thus, he did not have to follow the clumsy boy around for the day to make sure he was safe.

When school ended Naoki decided to go wander around the town for a little while; he did not want to go back home knowing that his brother and his strange tutor would be there sooner or later. Instead he walked around town for a few hours until it was starting to get too dark to be safe and went to his house. When he arrived at the Sawada household, he closed the door softly behind him and removed his shoes before moving to his room. As he passed by Tsunayoshi's room he heard a few murmurings which he promptly ignored.

He took a quick shower before settling in his room, deciding to complete his homework quickly before relaxing with a book. He was just finishing his maths problems when a small shadow obscured his copybook. He jerked in surprise, head snapping up before his eyes locked with the charcoal ones of Tsunayoshi's baby tutor. Naoki blinked, momentarily confused and surprised. When had the baby entered his room? He had not even heard the door open. He really had to be so deeply in his thoughts not to notice.

"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow at the baby who leaned over from where he was standing on Naoki's desk to look at the blonde's copybook. Normally he would have ignored the baby and gone right back to what he was doing but he had a feeling that it would not be a good idea to do that. For whatever reason.

"Sawada Naoki," undecipherable charcoal eyes latched onto his and Naoki found himself leaning back instinctively, as if trying to get as far away from the strange baby as possible without showing any weakness by getting off his chair. "Straight A student, above average in sports and no friends." The words were said as if the baby was stating facts and Naoki wondered how he could even know this much about him. He had never even bothered interacting with the other since he had appeared on their doorstep. "How interesting to see two brothers, twins, so different from each other, though still so similar."

Naoki's eyebrows rose incredulously. "I am nothing like Tsunayoshi," he stated, a part of him feeling defensive for some reason.

"Really? The two of you have no friends."

Naoki's eyes took on an amused glint, lips pulling up in a derisive smirk. Reborn's posture changed slightly – in surprise? – and if Naoki had not been so observant he did not think he would have been able to notice the nearly invisible movement. "Shouldn't you be tutoring Tsunayoshi instead of coming to chat with me?"

"He is already sleeping," came the squeaky reply. Naoki blinked and turned to look at his digital clock. Huh, he had stayed out later than he had thought; it read 11:48. He had missed diner. There was a moment of silence, during which Naoki closed his copybook and turned off his table lamp. "If you are doing so well in school, why have you not been helping Tsuna with his classes? He is your brother after all."

Slowly, deliberately, Naoki stood up and looked down at the baby. "I have no patience for incompetence and laziness," he said a moment later, voice in a soft drawl. There was another minute of silence. Naoki pointedly turned his back to the baby and made his way to his bed where he sat down, picking up a large, thick book from the nightstand.

"I see," came a squeaky voice before Naoki heard small footsteps making their way to his door. Then just as the baby was about to leave, he said something else that made Naoki look up in momentary surprise before realization made his eyes widen. The last he saw of Reborn was the smug smirk on his face.

" _You have an interesting accent,"_ he had said, and Naoki realized that they had been talking in English the whole time, his mind having translated the words automatically. His British accent he had somehow kept from his previous life had crept through his voice.

' _Interesting baby,'_ he thought, a smirk of his own making its way on his face. Somehow he knew that the baby had issued a challenge and he had accepted. What the challenge was, he had no idea. However, he knew that his boring lifestyle might actually become more interesting.

* * *

A couple of days after his arrival, Reborn could say that he was pleasantly surprised. His student did not turn out to be so bad; true, he was pathetic and useless but he had potential to be much more. His kind heart was refreshing to see, especially for someone like Reborn who had lived in the dark world of the Mafia for decades. Sawada Tsunayoshi was definitely one of the most powerful skies he had ever met and all he really needed was to be whipped into shape. He would make for a good boss for the Vongola. And he already had his first subordinate.

Even Sawada Naoki was not what he had been expecting. As much as the boy wanted to seem aloof and uncaring, Reborn could notice just how much he really did care for his brother. With the right guidance Naoki could be a good asset for Vongola, if only Tsuna and he had a better relationship, that was. The boy was intelligent, frighteningly so, with good instincts and a nimble body perfect for fighting. He was still rough around the edges though; his potential had not been exploited yet, but Reborn knew that the moment the boy tapped into his hidden talents he would be a force to be reckoned with.

With the Sawada twins at the head of Vongola, Reborn knew that the Family would only be able to prosper. Nothing would be able to stand against them for long. However, their relationship was worrying. In the few days he had been there Reborn had rarely seen those two interact. Well, there was the fact that Naoki hardly talked to anyone really, but even when they were in the same room they barely even _looked_ at each other. Naoki ignored Tsuna and Tsuna tried to seem as small as possible. It was like they had no relationship whatsoever, except for their blood ties. Naoki did not seem interested in being involved with Tsuna and Tsuna seemed like he was more intimidated than anything.

Really, that boy needed more self-confidence.

Reborn was not allowed to tell the younger twin about the mafia but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he started to suspect something. Like he had said the boy had good instincts. Naoki might not have realized it but he had talked to Reborn like talking to an adult, unmindful of his physical appearance. He had realized, maybe subconsciously, that Reborn was more than he looked like and had acted accordingly, being wary while still knowing that Reborn would not truly hurt him.

There were still a few aspects of the boy that he did not understand, like his weary, lonely eyes, his tendency to care for his brother one moment and then seeming condescending. He did not know why the boy was like this; Reborn knew that he was missing something, something important enough that it had built Naoki into being who he was. After all, as uncaring as he seemed about everyone but his brother and mother, Reborn could also see that he could be just as caring and kind as Tsuna.

Maybe those two needed a little push in the right direction?

As Reborn settled in his hammock for the night, his mind went back to the expression the younger Sawada twin had given when he had mentioned having no friends. He wondered if the contempt had been directed towards Tsuna or… towards _himself_.

* * *

That night Naoki had a strange dream. He was walking through a dark dingy dungeon-like room when he came across the weirdest sight possible. There was a man sitting on a frozen throne-like chair, slouched lazily with his arms crossed. His long legs stretched casually on the floor. He had a prominent scar on his left cheek and spiky black hair. Naoki stopped and stared. Then, suddenly the man's closed eyelids snapped opened and Naoki found himself on the receiving end of a pair of sharp red orbs. The man stared at him for a moment and Naoki remained frozen stiff, fear seizing his body.

"Who the f-k are you, trash!?"

Naoki jerked back… and found himself staring at his bedroom ceiling. Heart beating rapidly in his chest, he brought a hand to hover in front of his face and stared at the trembling appendage, his other hand coming to clutch at his night shirt.

' _What… was_ that _!?'_

* * *

In Italy, deep in the recess of a mansion, a nearly invisible crack appeared on a large piece of ice in which a frozen figure could be found.

* * *

In an antique shop, a figure with straight white hair and glasses, dressed in a green kimono looked up from his bowl of ramen, his lips pressing into a thin line as a light frown formed on his face.

"Hm… The anomaly is acting up," he hummed before going back to his ramen.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

A few days after his strange dream, Naoki still could not keep it out of his mind. Instead, he went through the days lost in thought. He did not even seem to notice when the Italian transfer student started to follow Tsunayoshi around like a puppy, or when the school star baseball player tried to commit suicide one day before also starting to follow Tsunayoshi the next.

That dream… It had not been _just_ a dream. There were times when dreams could be quite realistic but this… this was too much. Not only had the dream held too much detail to be only a figment of his imagination but he certainly had felt that oppressive presence the man had exuded, the fear he had felt and the adrenaline in his body.

The second time he had a strange dream, he fell asleep reading, curled up under the covers of his bed. He 'woke' up standing in the same room as the previous time. With a hint of nervousness in the pit of his stomach, he took his first step and let his feet guide him to where the man had been that last time.

He was there again.

As Naoki rounded the corner, red eyes snapped open and locked onto his small frame. Naoki froze.

"You again," a deep voice said, the man not moving from where he was lounging in the throne-like chair as he observed Naoki. "What the f-k are you doing here, trash?"

Naoki licked his suddenly dried lips. "Where is here?" he instead asked, absently noting that they were speaking in Italian, one the numerous languages he had taken to learn in this new life when he had found school to be too boring and not enough challenging.

The man seemed to stare at him harder, making Naoki stiffen.

"Hm. What's your name, trash?"

Naoki blinked, having not expected this question. The man in front of him did not seem the type for conversations, much less for bothering with other people. However, he did not test his luck; he really did not want to know what the man would do if he got impatient.

"Naoki," he said. "My name is Sawada Naoki."

"Hm? Japanese." Then suddenly his red eyes sharpened and regarded Naoki in such a way he felt like he was being scrutinized and judged. "Do you know a Sawada Iemitsu, trash?"

Naoki stared. "How do you know that idiot's name?"

"So, you do know him." Then red eyes glared at him and Naoki wondered just what the hell was going on there. This was all too confusing. He was meeting a strange man in his dreams, a man who seemed to know _Iemitsu_ of all people and who Naoki had the strange feeling was not usually as calm. "What's your relationship with him, trash?"

A distasteful grimace made its way on his face. "I don't know why _he_ is so interesting but he is my… _father_." Before he could see the man's reaction, Naoki found himself waking up in his bed again. He sighed and then frowned.

Something strange was going on. It had started with those dreams but he wondered if it had not started even before? He remembered that day Iemitsu's boss had come to visit them and Tsunayoshi had caught fire. There had been strange men who had appeared afterwards. He did not know what was going on but he knew now that Iemitsu was involved in something definitely suspicious.

Then there was Tsunayoshi. Since his baby tutor had come he had started acting strange, from coming to school half-naked, confessing to that Sasagawa girl and even getting involved in fights. He wondered if what Iemitsu was hiding had something to do with Tsunayoshi; it was quite possible, the man had always loved his 'little tuna fishy'. Since that day with Iemitsu's boss Tsunayoshi had always been favoured by the man. It had never bothered Naoki before since it meant that the man and his idiocy would stay far away from him. However, now he wondered if he was not getting Tsunayoshi also involved in whatever suspicious business he was engaged in.

With a sigh he decided that it would be best to think about all this later. It was the weekend so he had been able to sleep in a little. However, it was also the summer, being July and all, and it was starting to become a little too warm. He really could not wait for the Summer Holidays.

He stood from his bed, quickly straightened it before opening his window to let the cool morning air in. He took in a deep breath, savouring the feeling of the slight breeze licking at his cheeks. Then he turned around to get ready for the day. Half an hour later he went down the stairs, showered and fresh, to make his way to the kitchen. Tsunayoshi, Reborn and Nana were already there when he sat down.

"Good morning, Nao-kun!" Nana chirped happily as she handed him a plate of warm food. He nodded back in greeting and immediately dug in.

"Nao," a squeaky voice called. Naoki looked up to blink at the baby tutor. Since when did he become ' _Nao'_? "Why don't you help with Tsuna's lessons today?"

"Hiiiie! Reborn!" came from Tsunayoshi and Naoki spared him a glance. He looked nervous.

"What? It's not like he has anything planned for today."

The blonde raised an incredulous eyebrow. How would he know that? It was more like the baby was indirectly ordering Naoki to help Tsunayoshi. The undertone in his voice was enough to clue him in, and he really did not like being ordered around. Especially by a baby. Even if said baby seemed more like an adult.

"I am busy," he said instead. They both turned to look at him, Reborn more amused as if he had expected Naoki to say this and Tsunayoshi surprised. Huh, when was the last time he had talked in Tsunayoshi's presence besides a hurried 'goodbye'? Even he could not remember.

"Busy doing what?" Reborn asked.

Well, he had not thought that far. He blinked his eyes slowly before blurting out the first thing that popped into his mind, "cooking."

The effect was immediate. Tsunayoshi snapped his head violently at him – Naoki wondered if he got whiplash – and gapped, Reborn raised his eyebrows at him and from behind him he heard Nana exclaim, "Ara! I did not know Nao-kun could cook!"

"You are going to cook?" Reborn asked disbelievingly.

Since he was already deep in, Naoki decided to just go along with it, so he simply nodded. He had not cooked since his death and to be truthful he had missed it. It was the one thing he had shared with his previous mother after all and _she_ had always loved eating whatever Naoki would make, especially when he would make sweets.

"What are you going to make then?"

"Dessert," he replied simply. He quickly finished eating, not wanting to continue this conversation, before leaving the room. An hour later when he was sure Tsunayoshi and Reborn would be busy in the former's room and Nana would be taking care of the laundry, Naoki went back downstairs.

Two hours later found Naoki cleaning after himself as he set a large chocolate cake to cool on the cooling rack. During the whole process he had found himself lost in thoughts and memories of the past. He missed his previous life where he had been happy with a normal family, a bright future and even a boyfriend, disregarding the fact that everything had gone wrong afterwards. The last time he had made a chocolate cake had been for their birthday. _She_ had pouted all of five minutes before Naoki had relented and gone to bake a marshmallow cake. _She_ had always loved marshmallows…

It… hurt to think of _her_ and all the great time they had spent together because Naoki was reminded of _her_ betrayal. _She_ had been his twin, his partner in crime. Nothing had ever hinted at the fact that _she_ hated him. That was why _her_ betrayal hurt so much; Naoki did not understand what could have driven _her_ to kill him.

He was suddenly startled from his thoughts as something wet fell on his knuckles. Raising his fingers to his face, he realized confusedly that he was crying, crying for a lost life, a lost family, a lost future, but most of all crying for the loss of this bond he had once had with his sister. Rubbing his eyes raw, a choked gasp leaving his lips, Naoki turned on his heels and rushed to his room where he remained for the rest of the weekend. He never saw the tiny figure observing him from the doorway.

* * *

The next time he had another dream, a woman by the name of Bianchi, who was apparently in love with Reborn, started to live with them – there was so many things wrong with _that_. Naoki was still affected by his memories of his previous life – he had refused to even look at the cake he had baked since then – so his reaction might have been a little lacking. He should have been terrified, confused and maybe even irritated, but he was mostly numb.

When he appeared in front of the man, they both stared at each other in surprise before Naoki turned away. He walked a few feet away and sat down in a small corner of the room, drawing his legs close so as to hold them together, gaining slight comfort form the action. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his knees, waiting for the dream to end. Thankfully, the man did not try to talk to him too; he was simply ignored.

The next couple of times he had the same dream he did the same thing, though during the last one, he could feel piercing eyes glaring daggers at him.

A few days after the cow child, Lambo, started to live with them, Naoki had another dream. He went to bed particularly annoyed and displeased; he was already in a bad mood all this time and a few days before during dinner, now the only time he really bothered to appear in front of his… family, Lambo decided to steal his food. It might have been a silly reason to act like he had but his mood had soured even more. He had stood up, excusing himself before disappearing to his room. He avoided eating with them anymore and tried to spend as little time in the house as possible; he felt bothered and unbalanced, as if unable to really find his place anymore.

Why was he alive?

Why had he died?

What had he done wrong?

Why was he not… dead?

These questions still filtering across his mind, Naoki appeared in the dark room. He chanced a glance at the man from all those times before retreating to where he had spent all his time the last few times. He did not know how long he had been there when a deep, angry voice suddenly yanked him from his dark, drowning thoughts.

"Stop your sulking already, you f-king brat! You are polluting my space with your useless emotions!"

Naoki positively _froze_. Maybe it was the accumulated emotions from the past couple of weeks or the stress of trying to find out what suspicious activity Iemitsu and Tsunayoshi were taking part in without actively getting involved, but whatever the reason, something seemed to _snap_ in his mind. Everything he had hidden and kept to himself, deep in his subconscious since his death and subsequent rebirth came bursting out: loss, sadness, pain, betrayal, but most of all anger, irritation, anguish…

His head snapped up and glared at the _infuriating_ man, his blue eyes becoming particularly frosty. "You have absolutely _no idea_ what I am going through, so if I want to sulk, _I am going to sulk_ , you bloody irritating man!"

A red-eyed glare was his reply. "You dare talk to me like this, scum?"

"Yes, I dare," Naoki sneered. Suddenly, before he could react, he found himself flat on the ground with the man over him, one large hand holding him in place by the throat. He knew that he should be sacred, terrified even, and he knew that if he had been in his right state of mind he would have been. However, he was too incensed to care at this point. He bared his teeth at the large, threatening man, unmindful of the squeeze he was given at the throat in response. He did not even register the pain. "You don't know – You don't know – _You don't know anything_! You don't know what it's like to be betrayed by someone who has held your trust all your life; you don't know what it's like to die; you don't know what it's like to be trapped in the body of a child; you don't know what it's like to trust no one and to fear every person's intentions; _you don't know what it's like to wish for death_!"

With everything having finally found their way out into the open, Naoki deflated and curled in on himself, silent tears finally escaping his eyes. He did not notice the hold on his throat disappearing nor the contemplative silence that came from his companion.

"Tch. Weakling." Naoki looked up, too tired to muster up even indignation at the comment and found himself staring directly at the dark pair of eyes of the man straddling his slight form, a disgusted sneer in the scarred face. "You're just going to lie down and accept your fate? I met others who have had worst and they _fought back_."

Naoki frowned, confused. Those words… they held more behind them than it should be possible. He thought that the man – whom he still did not know the name of – would not understand him, but those words, thought they seemed like they were criticizing him – which they were – Naoki noticed the underlying meanings. He noticed that the man did not try to refute his claims; not only did he _believe_ Naoki but he _understood_ him, maybe even _sympathized_ with him.

He was so shocked that it took him a moment to realize that the angry man's face had long dissolved to make way for his bedroom ceiling, eyes wide in shock and tears frozen.

He _laughed_.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

As summer vacation came along Reborn found himself contemplating the youngest Sawada often. The boy was a puzzle just waiting to be solved; there were so many hidden mysteries that even he, the World's Greatest Hitman, had trouble discovering. At first Reborn had taken the boy as a mere entertainment when he became bored with his student and wanted something to fill his time. Then the mystery surrounding Sawada Naoki thickened.

That time Reborn had seen the boy crying in the kitchen was the time he really started to get interested in him. He had not been sobbing, loud and heartbreakingly; it had been quiet and unconscious, a silent grief taking hold of the boy. The emotions Reborn had seen from Naoki had intrigued him; there had been loss, pain but also anger. It was as if the boy had lost someone important, or many someones… However, that could not be possible; Sawada Naoki was supposed to be a boy with no close relationship to anyone, having barely interacted to anyone except when obligated as it was. How could the boy have lost anyone if he had never even been close to someone? How could the boy have experienced loss at such a young age while he was supposed to be a mere civilian, shielded from the dark world of the mafia? There was a possibility that the intel had been wrong like they had been about the boy's feelings towards his brother but Reborn highly doubted it.

Then Naoki started acting strange. It started the day Reborn found him crying in the kitchen. He had locked himself in his room and had refused to come out until the next day. He had had dark circles under his eyes, denoting lack of sleep. Naoki had always been quiet and reclusive since even before Reborn had entered his live but all of a sudden he was more so. It was as if he was floating through his daily life, there but still _not really there_. More than once Reborn had seen him knock into something on his way. Naoki, unlike Tsuna, had an unconscious grace that Reborn wanted to implement in his student and to find the boy almost as clumsy as Dame-Tsuna was disconcerting.

Even Tsuna and Nana had noticed Naoki's strange change in attitude. Reborn still remembered the day the stupid cow had pushed the boy away by taking his dinner. When Naoki had left the table, Nana had given a stern lecture to the cow but most of all Tsuna had stood up and scolded the brat, voice firm and hard, and Reborn would swear until his last breath that his eyes had flashed orange. That was the moment he had seen the most potential to be Vongola Boss in his stupid, no-good student, the trigger being _Naoki_.

Something was wrong with the boy though and Reborn hated not knowing why, not because he was concerned, but because he was curious and the reason was still a mystery, to _him_! The Number _One_ Hitman in the World! Nothing had ever escaped him as easily before and he was going to find the reason why, if only because Reborn was prideful.

Then Naoki changed _again_ and there should be no reason why! One day he went to bed brooding like he had done for a while and came back the next day thoughtful. If Reborn had been any lesser man he would have thrown a fit and all because he still could not find why the boy had such a change in attitude with seemingly no reason.

* * *

Naoki was many things, but stupid he was not. He had long realized that the man in his dreams was not a figment of his imagination but actually seeing proof of this was something else. He had woken up, deep in thought about what the man had told him and reflecting on his past actions but when he had gone into the bathroom only to see _this_ on his neck, he was violently shaken out of his thoughts to make way to disbelief and even some fear.

There was a large bruise on his neck, an ugly dark purple, green and yellow, in the form of a large hand.

He shuddered. Well, this was not good.

* * *

Naoki knew that everything that had been taking place since Reborn had appeared were all related, related to Tsunayoshi, to Iemitsu and to the man in his dreams. Naoki had no access to Iemitsu since the last time the man had been in Namimori had been two years before and he had stayed only for a week before leaving again leaving no trace except for the flimsy excuse he had fed to Nana. His second option was the dangerous man he met randomly when he went to sleep, however, Naoki was wary of approaching this living ticking time bomb. Thus, his last option came back to Tsunayoshi.

That was why for a few days Naoki followed Tsunayoshi around and tried to listen in on his conversations. He really did not feel like actually going to the boy and directly ask him; he had not talked to him in years and that would be just mutually awkward. Thankfully, Tsunayoshi's little entourage never noticed him; he had a few close calls but nothing else. He was not so sure about Reborn but since he never mentioned Naoki's presence he dismissed this concern from his mind.

A few things always came up that gave him a few disjointed clues that he could use to piece up this puzzle. One of the many things that cropped up was the mention of something called 'Vongola' and during Reborn's conversations with Tsunayoshi, the latter always refuted being its boss. Then there was one of Tsunayoshi's resent companions, the Italian transfer student Gokudera Hayato who called Tsunayoshi 'Juudaime'. Tenth? Tenth of what? Vongola? Vongola meant clam in Italian… Bianchi was from Italy, much like Gokudera, Lambo and even Reborn. So whatever was going on was most likely from Italy. Okay, Naoki could work with that.

Then Gokudera came up again. Whatever was going on also most likely involved illegal use and possession of weapons; he highly doubted a normal middle schooler would be allowed to carry around _dynamites_ which Gokudera seemed to know how to use. Another use of weapons came from Lambo who apparently carried around grenades… He was _five_! Again there was Bianchi who cooked up some purple _things_ that she liked to throw around and that melted walls. Right.

Things were starting to add up a little too perfectly.

All three used weapons and came from Italy. Illegally?

What was Italy known for that included illegal means and weapons?... Mafia. Drat.

' _Please, someone tell me this is not what this seems to be,'_ Naoki thought to himself as he reviewed his notes, closed his eyes, and looked at them again before groaning.

There was no proof they were actually involved in the _mafia_ but it was highly likely to be a possibility.

How was Tsunayoshi involved though?

Pause. Iemitsu. Stupid Iemitsu who sent them lots of money (hence, why their small family had the biggest house in the whole lot), visited rarely and sent postcards detailing him in a construction worker's gear… with penguins in the North Pole. Right.

Naoki rolled his eyes. How he had not suspected this before was beyond him. Granted at first he had thought that Iemitsu had multiple wives all over the world, thus the need to travel a lot and the little time he did spend in Namimori. Now he felt a little embarrassed that he had not suspected illegal activities instead.

Now to put everything together.

Tsunayoshi was most likely involved in the mafia, maybe because of Iemitsu (why Naoki and Nana had not been involved was still unclear though); he was the boss of something called Vongola, the tenth if Gokudera was anything to go by; Vongola was something Mafia related (a mafia organization maybe?); all their new houseguests were also involved in this.

Things should have stayed unclear and uncertain to Naoki since all he could do was speculate with no real proof but something told him that he was on the right track. Poor Tsunayoshi; he was going to get himself killed.

Now what was he going to do with this information?

* * *

It was after he had finished deducing all he could from the little information he had that Naoki had another dream. He appeared in the same place right after having gone to bed. He did not know how to act around the man; he felt embarrassed for having broken down like he had in front of the man but he also felt wary of the man; not only was he dangerous but Naoki was completely defenseless when he was in this dream place.

This time as he appeared, the man – whom he still did not have the name of – immediately turned his sharp red eyes on Naoki who promptly froze in surprise.

"Oi, trash, you are going to explain what you said that last time." It was not even an order; it was a statement, as if the man was certain that Naoki was actually going to do as he said. The blonde bristled; who did that man think he was!? However, he quickly calmed down when he remembered that it would not be a good idea to irritate the older man.

"Why should I tell you?" he asked instead, trying to stall, hoping that he would wake up quickly enough. Red eyes dropped to his exposed throat that still held the bruises from a few days before and Naoki stiffened. The man smirked and looked at him expectantly. He knew he should have done something about it before going to sleep but he was already dressing warm during the day with turtle necks or scarves. He had thought that he could have a small reprieve from the hot summer air as he went to sleep in his room, but apparently it had not been enough. He knew the man was practically threatening him, knowing that Naoki was defenseless. Naoki gritted his teeth and spat, "what do you want to know?"

The man narrowed his eyes warningly but otherwise did not react to Naoki's tone of voice. "Everything you said before, trash."

Naoki pursed his lips in displeasure. There was no way he would tell his greatest secrets to a complete stranger who might or might not kill him, despite the fact that he had practically already done that that last time anyway.

"I will tell you if you tell me what 'Vongola' is," he bargained instead. Suddenly, before he could react, Naoki found himself in a familiar position, the same one he had found himself in that previous time; the man pinning him to the floor by a large hand around his throat and straddling his lithe hips to prevent mobility. Naoki glared and the hand around his throat tightened warningly, making him wince; it was not enough to make him gasp for breath but it hurt nonetheless, especially since he was already bruised there.

"How the f—k do you know that name?" the other man snarled. Naoki chocked as the hold around his throat momentarily tightened. His small hands scrambled to the man's wrist and tugged hopelessly against the strong hold. The man was strong; Naoki could actually _feel_ the muscles in his arm. The hold loosened slightly, leaving the blonde boy gasping for breath. "Well, trash?"

Naoki scowled but still replied; this was getting out of his control. "I… found out on my own."

" _How_?"

Naoki gasped as the hold tightened before loosening again, threatening. "Some Italians came to my town and started living with my family. I… kind of followed them until I… patched up a few things together."

"What things? What did you find out? Well, trash? I'm waiting."

Naoki gritted his teeth. "There is something called 'Vongola' which those people are involved in, most likely illegal. My father in involved in this and it seems my brother is too. My brother's tutor mentioned something about him being the 'boss' and one of my brother's friends calls him 'Tenth'."

" _WHAT!?_ " Naoki flinched, even as the man suddenly released him, standing up, only to kick at his throne-like chair in apparent anger. His eyes widened as he saw something of an angry orange swirling around the large man. He moved to stand up but it seemed like the slight movement had caught the other's attention as the angry man suddenly turned towards him and he found himself back in the same position as before. If he had not been in such a dangerous situation he would have considered their position to be highly embarrassing. "What's your brother's name, trash?" the man asked. Naoki coughed as the man pushed him forcefully to the floor. His momentary lapse of silence seemed to irate the man though as he was suddenly pulled up and slammed on the hard floor. He released a small cry, his vision going white briefly as he blinked furiously at the man hovering over him whose lips were pulled back in a feral snarl.

"I'm not… going to tell you when you so… clearly wish him… h-harm," Naoki gasped. As much as he always told himself that he did not care for Tsunayoshi, it was glaringly obvious that he did care and he was not going to send such a dangerous man after his brother! He had already pulled a blunder with what he had previously told, having not thought that maybe the man could be an enemy of his father's or Tsunayoshi's.

The man's face twisted in a highly unattractive manner as he _growled_ at him. "You f—king –"

Naoki could never be more thankful when he suddenly found himself in his room, throat hurting and head pulsing in pain.

* * *

The first time Xanxus met that boy he was obviously surprised and with good reason. He knew that he had been frozen by his fa – _that man_ and since, he had always been unaware. That was, until he suddenly found himself in a dungeon-like room with a throne of ice. He had sat down, with nothing better to do but to wallow in his anger at his predicament. He knew that he was still frozen though, since his 'body' did not feel like a real body. Then that boy had appeared out of nowhere, seeming as surprised as Xanxus had been.

However, like he had appeared, he also quickly disappeared and Xanxus found himself alone in the large room again. He did not know how long it was until the boy reappeared. Days? Weeks? In that place Xanxus had no real sense of time. When he did appear, it was obvious that the brat had no idea where they were either or why. Xanxus did learn, though, not only his name but the fact that the brat was _related_ to that Sawada trash from the CEDEF.

(He did note the obvious disgust in the boy's voice when he mentioned his relation to the trash.)

He had asked mostly because he was bored and wanted something to entertain him (the only reason he had not killed him before). After all, remaining in that room for days on end with nothing to do, not even with a way to unleash his anger, was quite boring. The brat seemed to be the only one aside from Xanxus to have access to this place, even if he was so obviously a civilian.

He was prepared to threaten the boy with information about Sawada the next time he appeared but when he did appear, the brat was _sulking_ and ignoring Xanxus. He would have killed the boy just for that if they had been in the real world but he could not exactly kill his only entertainment now, could he? He had had enough time to seethe during the time between the boy's departure and subsequent arrival so Xanxus was calmer than he usually was and just proceeded to ignore the brat.

Then the brat dared to appear before him like this again and his anger got the better of him again. When the boy had actually dared to talk back to him, Xanxus had been surprised. Not anyone had enough spine to do that; even a simple civilian could see that he was a dangerous man who had no qualms about hurting others.

However, what had really caught his attention was what the brat had said in his anger and following pathetic blubbering. He usually would have considered the other of lying but there had been an undercurrent of truth in his words; Xanxus became curious.

Arcobaleno? Or something similar anyway since the brat was a teen and not involved in the mafia, disregarding the fact that his _father_ was Sawada.

The fact that the brat had again dared to talk back to him, and actually _snarled_ at him, foolishly if Xanxus might add, while in obvious fear, picked the man's interest. Not just anyone could do that; either someone with extreme potential to be an assassin or an idiot. Normally he would be leaning towards the latter but something told him that the boy had potential. This was confirmed in their next meeting with everything the boy had concluded with a few nudges in the right direction.

At the time Xanxus was more concerned with the fact that the next heir had been decided in his frozen state and was actually that Sawada's spawn. It was only later, when the boy had disappeared (and was it not interesting to note that he had an effect on the boy even if they were not physically there?) that he really got to thinking about what had been said.

In only a few days the brat had been able to piece together enough information to cripple Vongola, only via a few well-placed words and some civilian level spying. He had mentioned a tutor and Xanxus knew for a fact that the Ninth would not send anyone to tutor the next Boss but the Sun Arcobaleno, Reborn.

This could only mean that either he had gotten his information without the hitman knowing, which was highly unlikely, or the hitman had been interested enough to let the boy have this information, if only to know what he was going to do with it.

The boy, with the right training, could be a great informant, assassin and a spy. Xanxus had never felt this need to dabble in someone else's potential; usually he could care less about others, but just this once Xanxus wanted to get involved, if only because he was bored and wanted to see what kind of havoc he could create by having Sawada Iemitsu's spawn on his side.

Yes, Xanxus had always been good at planning revenge.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

After the last incident Naoki was wary of going to sleep. He had been lucky the last few times when he had woken up just when he was sure things would go down. Who was to say the next time would be the same? For all he knew the man in his dreams could end up killing him. He had found out what he wanted to know though; 'Vongola' did exist and the man in his dreams was most likely an enemy of whatever it was, thus, an enemy of Tsunayoshi.

He thought wryly about how he had been trying to tell himself for years that he did not care for Tsunayoshi but now he was defending said brother, knowing he was putting himself in danger.

' _Well, I did die once. It's no longer an unknown so I'm not afraid,'_ he thought to himself as he found himself again in a familiar setting. With a sign, he decided to go and face the music; if he was going to die then he was going to die but no way was he going to deliver his defenseless brother to the terrifying man. Knowing Tsunayoshi, the mentally younger boy would piss himself in fear the moment he would catch sight of the stranger.

When he rounded the corner, his body tense and wary, he expected to find the man from before ready to murder him. Instead the man was slouching lazily in his throne-like chair, arms crossed and eyes closed. Naoki stopped and stared. It had become familiar to see the man like this but he had never before taken the time to really observe him. To his slight mortification, he found himself admiring the very interesting muscles showing even through the man's clothes. Well, though terrifying, the man was definitely a _very_ fine specimen of the male gender. Ahem.

Suddenly red eyes snapped open and Naoki took an involuntarily step back as he found himself on the receiving end of a heated, calculating glare. Slowly, a smirk made its way on the scarred face and Naoki could not help but think that he was most likely going to face hell very, _very_ soon.

"Oi, trash, defend yourself," was the only thing that left the man's lips before he was no longer in his throne but in front of the blond, fist coming down towards him. He most likely had a particularly amusing deer-caught-in-the-headlights look in his eyes as he found himself on the receiving end of powerful assaults.

When he woke up in the morning, Naoki found himself unable to move from his bed, body sore and bruising. A couple of hours later, he could not be more thankful for having been a typical girly girl in his previous life or else he would not have known how to hide his quite visible wounds with the help of Nana's concealer.

Great. He had graduated from murder victim to punching bag.

* * *

It would seem like getting himself beat up in his sleep became a regular thing. Almost every time he went to sleep Naoki found himself in that dreamscape where the man would tell him to defend himself before attacking him with delight. Since he was always so bruised when he woke up in the morning, he made sure to leave the house early and return late as he really did not want anyone living in the house to know what was going on (though, they would most likely not know the full truth as it was not exactly normal to get wounded in one's sleep).

Since he had realized after his third pummeling that the man from his dreams was not trying to kill him for some reason, Naoki decided that he was so not going to let himself get beaten up like some kind of weak-willed, wimp. As he found himself more and more out of the house, Naoki decided to hone his body to be able to actually defend himself against the crazy man.

He did not know how to fight but he carefully analyzed the attacks from the man at night before, during the day, he created some way to defend against them. Then he would try them at night when the man attacked him; some worked but some were not so lucky.

Each time he was able to deflect an attack from the man the other would smirk before kicking his attacks up a notch. Before long Naoki realized that his dream attacker was actually trying to _teach_ him to fight for some reason. The man was so ambiguous it was frustrating. First he tried to kill him and now he was trying to _teach_ him of all things. Next thing he knew he was going to declare his undying love for Naoki.

Said boy snorted. Preposterous.

The rest of the summer vacation went in this way. Before long school started again and he asked himself how he was going to juggle school and his night 'adventures'. He got a headache just thinking about it.

* * *

He had woken up later than usual because of another dream beating, and if he did not hurry he was most likely going to be late. He really did not want to have to face the Disciplinary Committee. Really, that Hibari went too far sometimes. If it had been his previous life, the Chairman would have long been arrested and sent to a Juvenile Institution. _'Kids these days… I am strangely happy I won't be able to have children, except if I suddenly decide to have a relationship with a woman.'_ He shuddered. _'That would be way too weird. What with my… new anatomy.'_ Naoki had long resigned himself to a life of celibacy. He really could not picture himself sleeping with a woman and a relationship with a man would be highly frowned upon. Well, in some places at least. Even that would feel strange, though not as strange.

"Ara, Nao-kun! You are late today," his mother greeted him as he entered the kitchen.

A nod was his only reply made as he quickly grabbed an apple and the bento Nana had already prepared for him.

"Dame-Tsuna, if you don't hurry you'll be late for school," he heard as he shot a glance at the clock.

"Hiiiie!" followed him as he quickly exited the kitchen after a quiet 'goodbye' to his mother. As he put on his shoes, stumbling footsteps rushed towards him. Tsunayoshi appeared, appearing particularly flustered and panicked and even Naoki hurried. They were definitely going to be late. He really could not believe that he had woken up so late; he was usually so punctual, leaving long before Tsunayoshi.

As he opened the front door, he was surprised to find Tsunayoshi's two friends waiting near the gate. Huh. He had never known they walked to school together with his brother. Even they seemed surprised by seeing him. He was slightly startled by the sudden snarl coming from the half-Italian one, Gakudera Hayato.

"Who the hell are you to trespass in Juudaime's house!?" the boy growled at him, pulling out a couple of dynamites. Oh, dear.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera, that's – " Yamamoto Takeshi started before he was interrupted by a shrill scream from behind Naoki.

"Gokudera-kun! Stop!" came from Tsunayoshi as he stumbled his way to his silver-haired friend, hands up in a placating gesture. "That's my brother!"

The other boy seemed to freeze in shock and Naoki watched in fascination as his pale face changed colour from an angry red to white, then blue before going back to red. And only in a few seconds. Wow, the powers of nature. Suddenly, the boy turned to him and if Naoki did not have as much self-control he would have jumped back in surprise from the mortified and pained look on the other's face.

"My apologies, Juudaime's Honorable brother!" he cried as he bowed furiously to Naoki who blinked in stunned silence. Wow. Just, wow. That was even stranger than seeing this at a distance. Really, nothing could compare to the real thing, and Naoki wondered if he should feel particularly disturbed by the submissive behavior or horrified fascination in the fact that Tsunayoshi kept surrounding himself with such… wierdoes. "My apologies, Juudaime! It would happen again!" Naoki heard distantly as a thought came to his mind, his eyes turning to his brother and his friends as he observed them shrewdly.

' _He… He is not amassing a - a_ harem _, is he?'_ he thought, thinking back on the fact that a few days before Sasagawa Ryohei had also joined Tsunayoshi's group of friends and even _Hibari_ was sometimes heard to be seen with them. And all of them revolved around _Tsunayoshi_.

"Dame-Tsuna, Baka-Nao," the high pitched call broke him from his thoughts and stopped Gokudera's panicked and hurried litany of apologies. Turning, he found Reborn standing on the doorstep, a peculiar glint in his dark charcoal eyes.

' _First Nao, now_ Baka _-Nao,'_ came the disgruntled thought from the blonde.

"You have only five minutes to reach school before the bell rings," Reborn explained, a disturbingly pleased look taking over his childish features as Tsunayoshi released another shrill scream. Ah, they were definitely not going to make it. For the first time in his school career Naoki was going to be late.

As one the four students rushed out of the Sawada property, running to school like their lives depended on it.

* * *

As Reborn observed the four teenagers with a pair of binoculars, he chuckled amusedly. He had been surprised when he had realized that Naoki had actually overslept for once; the boy tended to wake up really early before leaving for school. But it had worked in his plans to push the two brothers together. Summer vacation had gone by without Reborn really being able to do anything, so busy was he with tutoring Tsuna and Naoki had seemed even more flighty than usual. Reborn had decided to just wait and concentrate on teaching his student; there was a lot of work to be done with his dame student.

As he observed the four teenagers running to school together (and what a good bonding that was going to be, to get beaten up together), Reborn could not help comparing them. Yamamoto Takeshi ran like a seasoned athlete and potential hitman, his every light and well-calculated. Gokudera Hayato ran like he had had to teach himself in his years in the mafia, body in a defensive crouch and feet ready to move if he needed to dodge at any given time though his body was too stiff. Tsuna ran like a panicked child, clumsy in his steps and bumping into people on his way. However, he had speed, most likely from having to run away from his bullies for so many years. Then there was Naoki. While the other three pummeled their way through the morning crowd, the blond skillfully side-stepped any obstacle on his way, body loose and ready to move in any direction at any moment.

All four of them had talent and Reborn knew that they would go far with the right training, even Tsuna who did not seem like much at the first glance.

His interest perked as he noticed that they were nearing the school where a certain prefect was waiting. Oh, this was going to be really interesting. Popping a popcorn that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in his mouth, Reborn watched as Tsuna and his two friends ran in the school yard before being attacked by Hibari and his tonfas. Naoki on the other hand tried to sneak behind the prefect while he was busy with disciplining the other three. Like Reborn had expected Hibari was not fooled and before long his swung around and went for the blond.

Reborn found himself particularly interested when Naoki suddenly dropped his bag and crouched defensively, eyes narrowing. As a tonfa came flying towards his head, the blond boy ducked and rolled, feet nimbly flitting across the ground while he dodged the attacks from the Head prefect. The interested glint in Hibari's eyes was not encouraging at all and before long Naoki had to defend against more powerful and rapid attacks.

It was just starting to come really interesting when Naoki suddenly tripped and fell. He became the unfortunate victim of two tonfas and a blood-thirsty prefect.

* * *

When he got back home from school, Naoki was ready to collapse. He had never thought that arriving late to school entailed _that_. Hibari Kyoya was something else alright. As he thought back on the fight of the morning he felt a shiver wrack down his spine. To someone else it would have been of fear but Naoki strangely enough felt excitement.

He had never felt like this before. When Hibari had attacked him, Naoki had only _acted_. He had not had time to think about what he would do; instead, he had found his vision zeroing on Hibari, his eyes flitting around and catching each and every movement of the prefect. He had acted only on instincts and for the first time ever, Naoki had felt _alive_. Adrenaline had pumped through his body and it was pushed to its limits but he had never felt this excited since his first life.

Then he had tripped on his fallen bag and the subsequent pain delivered by the prefect was something he would have gladly done without. He was sure he would be sore and bruised for days to come.

It did not compare to defending against the man from his dreams. In his dreams it was more one-sided than anything else but a few hours before he had found himself almost on equal footing with the prefect. More than once he felt the urge to attack back but he only knew how to defend. He did not know how to really fight. _Yet_.

Without even removing his uniform, Naoki collapsed on his bed and fell immediately in deep slumber.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a familiar setting. For the first time ever Naoki felt eager to meet the man, and later as the man attacked him, Naoki found himself attacking back with vigor, even if he did not know what he was doing. When he woke up in the morning, even more bruised and sore than the first time, Naoki felt eagerness and excitement fill him.

Before the sun even broke across the horizon, he left the house, ready to try and make up some new moves to use against the man of his dreams.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

In his former life, when Naoki had still been happy and a girl, he had never thought that he would enjoy fighting of all things. He had always been more interested in the latest fashion and his rather large group of friends more than anything. Fighting had never been interesting. Now, however, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his heart beating furiously in his chest and the air whipping his hair around, he had never felt better.

Hibari was a vicious fighter and each time they fought Naoki always returned home with more bruises than when he had left in the morning. Yet, there was no denying that the physically older boy knew what he was doing and though he returned back wounded, he also returned stronger.

Since the first time he had gotten into a fight with the prefect Naoki purposefully went to school late if only to get into a fight with him. It became obvious after the third consecutive time he arrived late that he was doing it on purpose but Hibari did not try to make him stop. On the contrary, the boy seemed almost eager each time Naoki approached the school gate in the morning. It might be because Naoki grew stronger with each passing day, mostly because his night companion always gave him a good beat down on an almost daily basis.

Speaking of his dear night companion, he finally got a name for him. One night, as Naoki had collapsed after a decent beat down and the dream had kept going regardless, the man had started poking him with a booted foot. Since the blond really did not know when to shut up – and since he took great pleasure in insulting such a dangerous man without getting killed – Naoki had growled out a long string of insults in English, calling the man all kinds of inventive names.

Of course the man had not reacted well; he had kicked Naoki to the other side of the room and said, "My name is Xanxus, trash. You better not forget it."

And as Naoki thought about it, he wondered if it was a step forward or if the man still wanted him to die.

Nah. He most likely still wanted the blond to die. The man – Xanxus – seemed the type to wish bloody murder for anyone who crossed his path, Naoki being no exception.

As he stumbled back with a panting gasp, barely avoiding the tonfas that would have hit his arm, Naoki relaxed as he noticed the prefect replacing his weapons away. He turned from the other boy, knowing that their fight for the day was done, and made his way to his school bag which he had left at the school gate.

A grunt from Hibari made him look over his shoulder. The prefect was facing away from him, his dark jacket fluttering in the winds. "You are to come to the roof after classes," the boy said simply. Naoki furrowed his brows in slight confusion but otherwise did not react. "And stop coming late to school or I'll bite you to death." With that he walked away, leaving a contemplative Naoki behind.

Huh. He might have just made his first _friend_? _Friendly acquaintance_? Never mind. What really did matter was that Naoki might just have more time to fight with Hibari now that he had indirectly given the blond a better time to fight more and a better place for it.

To think that a few months before he would have gladly avoided the prefect like the plague…

"That was an interesting fight," he heard a squeaky voice on his way to his classroom. Turning in the empty hallway, Naoki was surprised to see a part of the wall shifting to make way for a familiar smirking baby with a fedora and a chameleon.

Naoki blinked. "Reborn," he greeted, shifting his bag in his arms.

"I did not know you could fight, Baka-Nao," Reborn stated almost too casually.

"I did not," Naoki replied, ignoring the insults, knowing that if he reacted it would be playing in the toddler's hands. "I recently acquired this knowledge through my own means."

"Really now?" Reborn raised an eyebrow at him. "What would you say about learning something else then?"

"Like what?"

Instead of answering, the baby raised a hand onto which his ever-present chameleon settled before _transforming_ into a _gun_ of all things. Naoki stared incredulously at the green gun in the toddler's hand, not ready to believe that said gun had just seconds before been a bloody chameleon. Reborn smirked smugly.

"A gun?" he asked faintly.

"Yes, a gun," Reborn replied, voice smug and satisfied. "Would you like to learn how to use one? I can teach you. After all, I'm the world's best Hitman."

Naoki stared. "Sure. Why not? If you'll excuse me?" And then he hurried away, deciding to process this new information at a later date. Like, if he was close to his bed in case he fainted – ahem – lost consciousness. He wondered if he was finally going crazy when his instincts told him that the toddler was actually telling the truth.

…That explained _so_ much.

* * *

Reborn had no idea what was happening with the youngest Sawada. When he had first met him a few months before, Sawada Naoki had been talented, yes, but still as weak as a civilian. Now, though, Naoki seemed to find it right to go and get into fights with Hibari of all people. Reborn had had his eyes on the school prefect since he had arrived so he knew just how good the kid was compared to normal civilians. To find those two fighting on almost equal grounds really opened his eyes to Naoki's true potential.

He had known when the blond child had gathered all the different information on Vongola by spying on Tsuna and he had known the moment Naoki had brought everything together. Reborn was still surprised that the boy was able to put everything together so perfectly though he had also noticed a few flaws while he was at it. Well, he could not really fault the kid; he had been brought up with a perfectly normal civilian background. (He reminded himself that he needed to up Dame-Tsuna's training since his useless student had been unable to notice his civilian brother spying on him. Only Yamamoto had almost noticed, showing either how good Naoki was… or just how pathetic Tsuna and his friends really were).

However, it was not normal for a child, brought up with no physical training, to have such great leaps in skills and abilities. Reborn was certain it had to do with the Vongola blood coursing through his veins. From what the Ninth had told him, he had sealed Tsuna's flames but not Naoki's when they had been younger. That might be what really affected such a great difference between the twins.

It was true that Naoki was far smarter than any other child, may be on genius level, but if Tsuna's flames had not been sealed, Reborn knew that he would not have been far off from Naoki's skills if he really applied himself.

Now Reborn had to bring out this same potential, minus the genius intelligence, from Tsuna's deep consciousness and Vongola would have the best and strongest Boss since Primo's time. Getting his flame sealed had really screwed him up, especially since Tsuna was such a powerful Sky; it had been like a large part of himself, more than three-quarters, had been forcefully taken from him. Reborn, who was quite in tune with his own flames, really did not want to know what it had felt like for the child.

* * *

Naoki could not believe what he had gotten himself into. Maybe he had been really stupid to accept Reborn's offer but he had never thought the _baby_ to be this… vicious! Oh, he had heard Tsunayoshi screaming often in what seemed to be terror and pain since Reborn had started to live with them, however, he had never really bothered to care about what could be happening since he knew that the baby would not really hurt Tsunayoshi more than necessary.

Now, he wondered if he should not have been more worried for his brother or if he was going to be alive at the end of this… lesson of sorts.

It was Saturday when Reborn came to him for the promised lesson in handling guns. Naoki had had time to process what the baby had told him a few days before but he had not really _accepted_ the crazy facts that had been presented to him.

Naoki had been sleeping when the baby had appeared, dawn having not even broken across the horizon yet. And to say that he awoke in quite an unpleasant way would be an understatement. He had just gotten thoroughly beaten up by his night companion, Xanxus, when the sudden feeling of danger had jolted him out of unconsciousness. Seeing Reborn standing over him with a large hammer of all things made him squawk as he tumbled out of bed, his head hitting the floor painfully, and his neck throbbing from where Xanxus had been squeezing them _again_ (he swore the man had an unhealthy obsession with holding Naoki to the ground by a hard grip around his throat).

When the situation finally registered in his head, Naoki groaned, blindly tugged his comforter from his bed and buried himself under its heavy weight. He was tired, it was a Saturday and he was really in no mood to deal with the crazy genius baby right now.

"Stop being lazy, Baka-Nao," he heard the distinctive childish voice. "It's time for your lesson."

" 's too ea'ly," he slurred sleepily. "Go 'way, 'eborn…"

Pause.

Suddenly, with a burst of speed he did not know he had, Naoki flung his comforter aside and rolled away from his previous position. There was a 'thunk' sound. Back hitting the wall right under his bedroom window, he scrambled into a sitting position and promptly gapped at the large dent in his bedroom floor. He stared, looked up at Reborn who stared back at him with his undecipherable charcoal eyes, then back at his ruined floor.

Right. Apparent Hitman baby with monstrous strength.

Naoki took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "I'll get dressed then," he murmured weakly before he rushed from his room.

That… was more than terrifying.

* * *

The two of them spent the day in a deep, hidden part of the park Naoki had never known was even there. Reborn showed him how to handle a gun: how to hold it, how to remove the safety, how to fire and everything that goes with it. The time they spent together made Naoki realize just how dangerous the baby was and it was not too farfetched to believe Reborn when he had said that he was a Hitman. However, Naoki did not let this fact discourage or cripple him; he wanted to be strong to be able to take Xanxus by surprise, the man was simply infuriating and Naoki almost daydreamed of the day he could knock the man down from his high horse.

Well, Naoki had become used to the man but Xanxus was still a dangerous man. It was a miracle the blond was still alive since Xanxus could kill him anytime he so wished. He did not know what the man's goals were for teaching him to fight but Naoki could not be too cautious.

As they took a small break Naoki turned thoughtful eyes upwards, absently admiring the slow drifting cotton clouds, the softly shining sun and the wide sky. It was surprising peaceful and bright for such a day. Spending this time with Reborn did not turn out to be so bad, so long as Naoki complied with the baby's demands. He had learned through much pain that Reborn went easier on him if he did not complain and did as he was told. At the beginning of their lesson, the Hitman baby had been after him with his large hammer from earlier, hitting Naoki each time he did not hit the target with the bullets. As time progressed, he got less and less hurt as he started to hit the wooden target, though he still had not reached bullseye.

"Where is Tsunayoshi?" Naoki suddenly blurted out. At the baby's raised eyebrow and amused glint in his charcoal eyes, he bristled slightly and looked away. "You always seem to be together. That is the only reason why I'm asking."

"Of course," Reborn practically purred. Naoki ignored the defensive feeling welling up in his chest. "I gave him the day off." Then more quietly, he added, "Which he better use to spend with his Family to strengthen their bonds."

After a moment of curious and contemplative silence on Naoki's side, the blond asked bluntly, "Can you tell me what 'Vongola' is?"

Reborn smirked up at him before lowering his fedora to hide his face. "I believe you already know."

Naoki hummed, staring at the target he had been practicing on. The first outer circle was hit but nothing closer to the bullseye yet. If he did not get it right by the end of the day he was sure he was going to return home more bruised than when he would fight Hibari. "What does that mean for Okaa-san and I?"

"Mama won't be involved, Iemitsu will make sure of that," was his prompt reply. Naoki's lips curled slightly in disgust at his father's name which did not go unnoticed, though the Hitman made no comment. "You, however, have the option. He does not want you involved but if that is what you want then he has no right to forbid you." There was a brief pause. "The question is: do you want to?"

Naoki looked down at the baby before looking away. Did he want to? It was the mafia they were talking about; death and violence were a constant in such a life. Once he would have replied with a definite 'no'. However, at that time he had had a loving sister and what he had once believed to be the love of his life. Now, when he thought of fighting for his life, he thought of the rush of adrenaline and the excitement he felt each time he faced Hibari, the grudging admiration he held for the baby beside him… and the fact that he might just be able to face Xanxus in real life. If he was strong enough he might even be able to wipe that annoying smug smirk from the man's face.

Then there was Tsunayoshi. Well, the idiot did need someone besides his… _harem_ to make sure he did not get himself killed.

Beside him, Reborn hid a satisfied smirk behind the shadow of his fedora, Leon flicking his tongue at his partner's cheek in slight reprimand.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

If there was one thing Naoki had been dreading to occur since the moment he had realized that he had been reborn in the opposite gender, it was definitely puberty. The first time around had already been difficult enough and now he had to go through it again but as a boy! The good side was that he was not going to have to go through his menstrual cycle anymore; no more period pain, no more dizziness, no more fear of dirtying his clothes. However, he would have much preferred all this compared to…

When he woke up on one of the rare mornings he had not encountered Xanxus during the night with the one organ he had tried to ignore since he had been born almost fourteen years ago hard and with a wet patch in the front of his pajama trousers, he had to clasp a hand over his mouth to muffle the sudden shriek bursting from his lips. That… was not what he was expecting to see the moment he woke up. He felt surprised and mortified, but above all horrified and apprehensive.

At first he did not know how to react. He stayed for the next ten minutes wondering, if he ignored his little problem, would it go away? Maybe it would disappear like it had never happened in the first place. But after ten minutes of nothing happening, with him wriggling around, his lower half aching a little, Naoki resigned himself to actually having to deal with it.

So, before he could think twice about it, he bolted from his bed and room, and locked himself in the bathroom. As he looked around the tiled room that suddenly seemed so foreign to him, he wondered what he was to do now.

He had a feeling Reborn would know what to do but he was really not in the mood to face the baby's amused face. He could not ask Tsunayoshi, which would be just plain awkward and his mother even more.

Were cold showers not supposed to do something? He silently asked himself as he eyed the shower head not far from him. He might have come across something like that somewhere in another life. Well, what could he lose? With a sigh, he stripped and hopped into the shower, hoping that it would work. As the cold water cascaded down his body, he hissed and trembled slightly but could not help the relieved sigh from escaping his lips when everything went back to normal.

Naoki rested his forehead against the cold tiled wall, turning the tap for the hot water, and closed his eyes.

He had known and accepted long before that he was now a boy but having this cold fact slap him in the face was something else, the fact that his past was not just a bad dream, that his sister really had betrayed him so cruelly, that his lover whom he had loved and would have done anything for had cheated on him so carelessly, that his life had been robed from him…

A silent sob left his lips before he drew in a shuddering breath. He should not drown in his self-pity again. The first time was bad enough, and besides he was just starting to learn how to live again. Sliding down to sit on the wet tiled floor, he thought about his new problem instead of losing himself in the memories of the past.

When he had first realized that he had been reborn as the opposite gender, Naoki had resigned himself to remaining a virgin all his life. Having a relationship with a girl seemed so wrong in so many ways when he thought about it. He did not think that he would ever be able to find a woman attractive, having been a woman himself once upon a time. However, a relationship with a man was even stranger. It was not really a sacrifice anyway; the thought of being in a relationship again left a bad taste in his mouth. He was reminded of his previous life and his previous lover; he did not think that he would be able to let something like this happen. Not again.

Apparently his body did not share his thoughts. Naoki might have been determined not to have any relationship again but his body was naturally… uh, _interested_.

Turning off the tap, Naoki dried himself and went back to his room. Luckily, it was a Sunday, so he could laze about in his bed for as long as he wanted. For a few hours, he read a book, trying to get his mind from his newly arisen little problem. However, at two in the afternoon, he could no longer ignore his grumbling stomach and so treaded downstairs to cook up something if his mother did not already have something ready.

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi was not having a good day. Like every day since Reborn had started living with him, he was woken up at the crack of dawn through some crazy means. On that day it was by the one ton hammer dropping on his stomach. After breakfast, during which he tried to keep his food away from both Lambo and _Reborn_ , and failing miserably, he found himself in his room, having another crazy lesson about the mafia. It was tiring and painful, particularly when he got something wrong and he got _punished_.

Finally lunch came and afterwards he was given a couple of hours to complete his homework while Reborn went to sunbath in the backyard with Bianchi. He wanted to quickly finish his homework but knowing Reborn he would get punished if he had an answer wrong and Tsuna really did not appreciate the baby Hitman's idea of a punishment.

It was around two when he was finally done and Tsuna went downstairs to let his tutor know since knowing Reborn, the baby Hitman would hit him if he found him lazing about, particularly if he thought that Tsuna was slacking off. He had to learn this cold fact the hard way, after all.

As expected, he found the baby hitman sunbathing in the backyard, Bianchi beside him in a skimpy bikini that made Tsuna flush in embarrassment. How people could not feel self-conscious dressing up like that, he had no idea. _He_ was the one feeling embarrassed here!

"What is it, Dame-Tsuna?" a squeaky voice made him jump and shriek, only to realized that it came from his small-sized tutor who had just appeared in front of him. It was just freaky how the baby could move so quickly and quietly, but he guessed it went along well with the whole 'Number One Hitman in the World' thing. "Well? You better not be slacking off, Dame-Tsuna."

Said 'Dame-Tsuna' squeaked and backed off a few steps when he saw the particularly familiar glint in his tutor's charcoal eyes. "NO!" he exclaimed, bringing up his arms defensively. "I'm done! I'm done!"

"Oh?" Reborn raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. Tsuna did not fault him, really, since it had taken him only half the time given to him by his tutor – that is, an hour instead of two – to complete his homework. Maybe Reborn's tutoring was finally paying off, who knew? "Let's see then." Reborn turned on his heels and walked back to the house. Tsuna released a relieved sigh; at least the baby had not gotten his Leon-gun out. He turned and followed behind his tutor, a careful distance away. "You better have everything right, Dame-Tsuna." Reborn shot behind him, making the young boy shiver in fear. Maybe he should have rechecked his answers before going to get the Hitman?

As they were making their way to the staircase, Lambo suddenly popped out from around the corner, singing obnoxiously.

' _Oh, no,'_ Tsuna thought, knowing that things were definitely going to go down quickly. And he was right. No sooner had the cow child seen Tsuna's tutor than he laughed arrogantly and dug through his large afro, taking two pink grenades out. Tsuna absently wondered if he cleaned it at all, what with all the different _things_ he stored up in there.

"Die, Reborn!" Lambo cried as he dashed towards the too-calm hitman.

"Wait! Lambo!" Tsuna shrieked as he tried unsuccessfully to stop the child from wrecking any more havoc than he already did every day.

Then everything happened so suddenly that Tsuna remained stunned for a few seconds. As Reborn reacted as Tsuna had expected, kicking Lambo away harshly, a particularly familiar bazooka slipped from the cow child's afro. It would not have been much of a problem, if it was not for the fact that at the same time Naoki, his brother, walked out of the kitchen, seemingly deep in thought. Before anyone could react, Tsuna watched in slow motion how his brother looked up at the shadow descending on him, before the bazooka slipped right over him and engulfed his lithe body. There was a 'boom' and pink smoke burst through the corridor.

"Hiiiiie!" Tsuna shrieked. "Na-Naoki!?" While he was panicking, he could not help the slight curiosity from appearing. Was an older Naoki going to appear? How was his brother ten years in the future? Had he changed? Had Tsuna finally been able to make his brother… like him?

Beside him, Reborn turned equally curious eyes towards the pink smoke that was starting to dissipate. As it finally started to thin, they could make out the silhouette of a lithe figure standing in the middle of the corridor. And then they stared, because standing in front of them was definitely Naoki, except older.

As ten years later Naoki observed his surroundings, they too observed him. He was taller than his younger self but had otherwise not changed much in the next decade. His blond hair was the same length it had always been, and his face had become narrower, having lost the little baby fat that had remained during his early teen years. His blue eyes seemed to be also narrower; he had never had Tsuna's innocent wide eyes but he had also never seemed so serious and… mature.

He was dressed in simple black slacks and a long-sleeved white shirt which was open at the center showing off his lithe muscled torso and… Were those –!?

"Hiiie!" Tsuna shrieked again, but this time in realization and embarrassment. Yep, those were definitely hickeys. All over his brother's chest. There were some things Tsuna really did not need to know. Beside him, Reborn smirked, highly amused.

At Tsuna's familiar shriek, sharp blue eyes snapped to the two figures, observing them, before turning to the small forgotten figure that seemed to be trying to sneak away. With a couple of strides, long legs carried TYL Naoki towards a certain cow child. Tsuna absently noticed that his brother was bare-footed. Before he knew what was happening, Naoki slammed his foot over Lambo who wailed.

"W-Wait! What are you doing!?" Tsuna stumbled over to the two, flailing his arms around. Naoki shot him a glance before frowning doing at the cow child he was crushing under his foot.

"Cow," a dark voice came from the blond. It was not as deep as most older men, though not as pitched as the women, but his voice was soft as it almost caressed their ears. However, the dark intent in what could have been a pleasant voice made Tsuna shiver in fear. "What did I say about the bazooka?" he asked and Lambo wailed even more. Getting no reply from the cow child, Naoki clicked his tongue in annoyance and kicked him away. Tsuna winced as Lambo crashed hard against the opposite wall and promptly lost consciousness.

"You grew up well in ten years," Reborn suddenly commented as Naoki turned around.

' _Of course you would think that!'_ Tsuna mentally cried in despair.

"Reborn," Naoki nodded at him in greeting and said Hitman smirked. Then the blond tilted his head in contemplation and added, "Can you tell my younger self what happened? In a few hours though; he is most likely going to return traumatized."

"Oh?" Reborn raised an eyebrow at the blond then looked pointedly at one of the visible love bites on his chest. Naoki looked down at it before giving a smirk at the Hitman who returned it with one of his owns. Tsuna on the other hand was mentally terrified by how well those two not only got along but also seemed to understand each other with silent gestures.

' _Please, don't make Naoki into another Reborn!'_ he mentally pleaded with an unknown deity.

"Tsunayoshi," he suddenly heard and he jumped with a slight stuttering 'hai!' He shrank in on himself as he found himself on the receiving end of his brother's older self's piercing eyes. Naoki regarded him silently for a moment before he finally said what was on his mind, "Stop complaining like a wimp and do as Reborn says; he knows best."

Taken aback, Tsuna blinked as a questioning 'eh' escaped his mouth. He did not notice the look his tutor shot his brother, so preoccupied was he by his confusion. Did Naoki in the future even know about the Mafia? What did he mean by that? Why was he telling him this anyway? Did he really hate Tsuna so much that he wanted him to go along with Reborn's torture? All this time, had he really considered Tsuna to be… a 'wimp'?

Though, before he could actually voice any of his questions, Adult Naoki poofed away in pink smoke and was replaced by the brother he was most familiar with. However, Naoki appeared with the most peculiar expression he had ever seen on his face. His usually neat blond hair was a little messed up, his lips seemed to be a little swollen and glistening and he seemed _flushed_.

As Tsuna opened his mouth to hesitantly ask his brother if he was alright, Naoki's face suddenly went redder as he turned on his feet, and ran upstairs, stumbling on his way.

"Well, that was interesting," Reborn commented beside him.

Tsuna frowned and thought back to what had just happened. He realized that this was the first time in forever Naoki had actually acknowledged him. And what he had said… maybe… Maybe Tsuna could just give more efforts in what Reborn was trying to teach him. He might not want to be a Mafia Boss but Reborn did tell him that if he refused then Naoki would be the next option. He did not exactly want his brother involved with the Mafia. The two of them might not have the best relationship, if what they had could even be called one, but Tsuna did love his brother.

For as long as he could remember he had always wanted for Naoki to acknowledge him but his brother more than anyone else had always seemed to dislike him. Tsuna had never known why and he had always been too intimidated by Naoki to actually ask. Tsuna, more than anyone, had always known that his brother was different. Not only was he everything Tsuna wanted to be – he was always cool and collected, intelligent, and quite beautiful – but there was just something… something from his brother that just called to him. Tsuna wanted to impress him; he wanted to protect him, but he never could act on those feelings. He was too… wimpy.

* * *

Upstairs, Naoki buried himself under his covers, wishing for the world to fade away. He had another little… problem but it was understandable. However, he could not help but feel even more mortified than this morning, though, this time he was also even more horrified and confused.


	9. Chapter Eight

* * *

**Earlier…**

_When pink smoke had engulfed him and he had found himself drifting through a kaleidoscope of colours, Naoki had felt terrified and confused. He had no idea what was happening; all he did know was that he had just exited the kitchen after having filled himself up with a great meal and then something large and purple had flown over him before he had found himself there. Then as he finally found his senses going back to normal, his vision filled with pink again and he found his legs folding to accommodate his new position._

_When his vision cleared, he was startled to find a very familiar man inches from his face. He tried to back away but his back hit a hard surface and he finally took in where he was. He seemed to be in an office of sorts and the man,_ Xanxus _, was sitting comfortably in a large throne-like chair, behind the man he could see a large window showing a beautiful and colourful garden,_ and Naoki was straddling Xanxus' lap! _No wonder he could not move, behind him was a mahogany desk and Xanxus was under and in front of him._

_When he realized where he was Naoki tried to stand from this compromising position but he was suddenly prevented from moving when a muscled arm wrapped around his small waist, pinning him down on Xanxus' lap._

" _What are you doing!?" he hissed, glaring at the man, though he was also inwardly wondering why the dangerous man was not throwing him off his lap already. Then he finally really took in the man and could not help but raise his eyebrows questioningly; it was Xanxus, definitely him. He would recognize those red eyes and that face anywhere. However, the man seemed different, older and somewhat_ calmer _._

_As the arm tightened around his waist, Naoki squirmed and tried to back away again. Yet, it seemed to have the opposite effect as he suddenly found himself being dragged snuggly against the man's chest. His own arms shot up and he could only push them against the muscled chest in front of him to put a little distance between the two of them._

" _Let me go, you bastard!" Naoki glared with a snarl. Red eyes narrowed back at him and the arm tightened even more around his small waist. He winced but did not move his defiant eyes away from the older man._

_Then suddenly a large hand grabbed the back of his head and tilted it towards Xanxus as powerful fingers dug into his blond hair. "You are_ mine _. You better remember it, trash."_

_Naoki was momentarily taken aback, a small puzzled and bewildered 'what?' escaping his lips. Because of his stupefaction he did not react in time when his head was suddenly pulled forward and a pair of lips harshly pressed up against his. Naoki froze. Then as his mind finally registered what was happening, he tried to unsuccessfully push away from the man assaulting him. As it did not work, he pounded on the chest in front of him with his fists but still, the man did not relent. Instead, a tongue was suddenly thrust into his mouth, and Naoki whimpered as his body started to react at the stimulation._

_Teeth latched onto his lower lip and nipped on it as the hand belonging to the arm around his waist crept up his T-shirt. Body trembling and eyes clasped shut tightly, he could not even remember when his fist had stopped moving and when his hands had instead fisted the white shirt of the man in front of him. He could only melt as the man did things to him he had not expected to ever happen in this life. Or ever for that matter._

_Then, as he was finally starting to respond to Xanxus' ministrations, pink smoke surrounded him again and he felt himself drifting away like earlier._

* * *

**Present**

Back in his room, Naoki could not help but groan and bury his face in his pillow. He could not believe this had happened. Not only had he appeared before Xanxus but the man had also assaulted him in such a way. Worst of all, he had actually started to _respond_! What was wrong with him!? He did not know how he had appeared in front of the man in the middle of the day and through such strange means, but he had a feeling it had to do with the purple thing from earlier. Though it had been around only ten minutes before, Naoki felt like hours had gone by since he had left the kitchen.

Xanxus had kissed him.

_Xanxus_ had kissed him.

Xanxus had kissed _him_.

Xanxus had _kissed_ him!

He shivered as he remembered the feeling of the man's lips over his, of the man's tongue in his mouth, of his teeth on his lip and of his large warm hand over his skin. It had been something else, alright. This was definitely different from their usual encounters during which Xanxus simply pummeled him into the ground.

As his lower half reacted again, Naoki groaned. Well, time to deal with it. Quietly, he crept out of his room and entered the bathroom where he repeated what he had done in the morning. However, this time as the cold water trailed down his body, the stubborn organ did not seem to obey his silent command. Memories of what had happened earlier came back to his mind and he blushed, his member hardening even more.

A storm of curses flew from his lips, before he sighed and turned on the hot water. Well, if this did not work, there was only one thing to do. The thoughts of the earlier events could not seem to leave his mind so he did not believe that he could force it down. Eyeing his distasteful organ, Naoki shuddered. W – Well, he could only face it head on. Taking a deep breath, he clenched his eyes shut, and drew his hand. As he finally grasped the stubborn organ, his knees buckled at the foreign pleasure and he shuddered again, however, this time it did not seem to be of disgust.

Mouth dry, and with quick and carefully calculated strokes, he brought himself to completion.

Panting as he came back to himself, he could not help but shudder as he realized what he had had to do. Feeling disgust and shame welling up in his chest, he turned the tap so that almost boiling water came down on him. Grabbing the soap, he scrubbed himself raw for a good fifteen minutes before he finally deemed that it was time to leave the bathroom. Knowing Reborn, he would know what he had been doing, and Naoki was really not in the mood to face the baby's amused face.

He spent the rest of the day locked in his room, horrified and highly disturbed.

* * *

**Future**

As the pink smoke dissipated and older Naoki replaced his younger self, he could not help but raise an eyebrow at the satisfied look on Xanxus' face. Rolling his eyes, he settled comfortably on the older man's lap and linked his hands behind his lover's neck. As a muscled arm wrapped around his slim waist, he smirked at the older man.

"You know," he said lightly. "You have just traumatized my younger self."

"Like I care," the other replied gruffly.

Naoki's smirk widened. "You should," he purred back. "Since this was my first sexual experience in this life and what made _that_ incident happen."

"Oh?" the other perked up interest, his large hand coming up to tilt his smaller lover's sideways before he buried his head in the smooth pale neck, his teeth nipping at the unblemished skin.

"Oh, yes," Naoki murmured, his own hands tightening around Xanxus' neck. "Tonight, ten years ago…"

"Good," Xanxus replied, his teeth burying themselves momentarily in the other's neck, making Naoki gasp, his head lolling back on its own accord. "At least you already know who you belong to." With that he sucked at the red skin, getting a moan in response.

"Possessive bastard."

Well, if his brat could still curse at him, then he was not doing a good enough job. With this thought, he smirked and went back to doing what they had been doing before they had been interrupted by the ten years bazooka from the past.

* * *

**Present**

That night, it took Naoki hours to finally fall asleep. His mind was preoccupied not only by the earlier events that had happened to him but also by what Reborn had come to tell him after dinner. A time-travelling bazooka? This was far from anything Naoki could have ever believed to be possible. However, it was possible for someone to be reincarnated as the opposite gender with full memories of their previous life, and for people to burst into flames without coming to any harm, so why not a working time-travelling _bazooka_?

It would have been better if Reborn had never told him though. He would have preferred to believe all of this to be a crazy dream cooked up by his mind. Instead, he knew that sometime in the future, Xanxus would have the gall to molest him. Suddenly his eyebrow twitched and he felt the sudden need to throttle something. How dare that bastard touch him in such a way? Because of him Naoki had had to… do _that_!

When he finally fell asleep, he found himself in the now quite familiar room in which he usually met Xanxus almost nightly. He was still incensed by what had happened earlier, so it came to no surprised that he stomped his way to his night companion. When he saw the man lounging in his throne-like chair with no care in the world, he snapped.

With a war cry, Naoki surged forwards, fist raised and lips pulled in a feral snarl. Red eyes snapped open and an arm shot out. Before Naoki could so much as graze the other man with his fist, Xanxus grabbed his wrist and flung him to the other side of the room. There was a rumbling sound as his back collided painfully against the stone wall but he was not deterred; he stood back up and dashed back to the other man, mind overwhelmed by a red haze.

For a while all they did was exchange blows, already familiar with this routine, though on that day Naoki was even more vicious than usual, making his opponent a little curious as to why but he remained otherwise unmoved. Then all too soon, Xanxus gave the finishing blow, resulting in Naoki being pinned to the ground in the much familiar way of having the older man's large hand wrapped around his neck.

"Are you finally done now, trash?" Xanxus growled, red eyes giving him a narrowed glare. Naoki growled back at him and tried to give him a kick, in response, Xanxus pinned the rest of his body with one of his muscled legs slipping between his. A flash of memory of what had happened earlier suddenly made Naoki still, his cheeks flushing, particularly as a _certain_ part of his body also _remembered_.

He squirmed, trying to get the older off of him before he noticed his predicament; however, it only resulted in the older man putting more weight over him. Maybe he should have just stopped moving altogether, he thought as the other man suddenly stilled. Then, tentatively, as if to prove a theory, a clothed knee rubbed between his legs. Naoki gasped and flushed harder, pressing his lips close to prevent the moan that rose up his throat from escaping.

Amused and highly entertained red eyes smirked down at him, making Naoki bristle like an enraged cat. He was embarrassed, mortified even, but that did not deter the hateful defiant glare from being shot at Xanxus. As a result, the man pushed his knee harder against Naoki's clothed member. His arms tried to push the older man away but Xanxus remained unmoved; Naoki was still much too weak against the man.

He felt humiliated as the man continued to rub his knee against him but he could not prevent his body from reacting back. Before long he was a squirming, whimpering mess as his senses went haywire. He could feel the blood pumping in his veins, air travelling in and out of his lungs, but most of all, he could feel the large warm body hovering over him and the reactions it got from the lower half of his body.

He threw his head back, eyes remaining close as he did not wish to see the amused glint in the other man's face. Heat pooled in his lower abdomen almost painfully as he squirmed back against Xanxus' knee. It was humiliating, embarrassing, mortifying and so many other emotions he could not think up. However, as much as he wanted to, he could not control the way his body reacted, and it was not long before, he released a cry, pleasure rocking through his whole body, and collapsed on the ground under him, utterly spent. Panting, he only had the time and energy to open his eyes half-way and gaze up with glazed-over eyes at the man over him before his surroundings faded away.

* * *

When the trash disappeared, Xanxus felt conflicted. It had been entertaining at first the reaction he had gotten from the trash when Xanxus had discovered his little problem. He was familiar enough with the teenage body to know that the boy's reaction had been unintentional; their position had been a little compromising now that Xanxus thought about it. The only reason he had done what he had after he had noticed the trash's problem had only been for amusement's sake.

He had not expected the boy's reaction to have such an effect on his own body, however. For the first time in ages, Xanxus had felt lust well up in him as he had watched the trash being so compliant while at the same time remaining so defiant as Xanxus brought him to completion.

Then the boy had looked up at him with such a debauched expression that he had felt his own member welling up even more. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to raise in him such lust that he thought he would burst.

Throwing his head back, he laughed.

"How interesting."

* * *

In the deep, dark recess of a mansion in Italy, another crack appeared in a large block of ice. This time it was larger and shone a bright orange and purple before the light faded out.

The figure inside the ice twitched a moment before becoming still again


	10. Chapter Nine

Monday morning came bright and early, a little too early in fact. Naoki was found treading to school with dark bags under his eyes. After he had woken in the middle of the night, panting and with a prominent wet spot at the front of his pajamas, he had not been able to get back to sleep. Not that he wanted to anyway, as he had been dreading seeing his night companion again after what had happened.

He felt humiliated and ashamed. However, a part of him could not deny the immense pleasure he had felt and the feeling of satiation he had felt. It had been awhile, too long in fact. During the night, as he stayed up thinking about what had happened, Naoki could not help but feel conflicted. On one hand, he hated how Xanxus had made him feel, reminding him of his past and the fact that he was now a boy; on the other, all the tension he had been feeling during the day had disappeared, and it had felt _good_.

That did not mean that he wanted a repeat, far from it. It would be too strange, being as he was a boy and all experience he had in this was from when he had been a girl in another life. In his mind, thirteen, going on fourteen, was far too young for any kind of sexual activity even if it was during that time that hormones went crazy. He had always been quite conservative in his previous life and had remained a virgin until his boyfriend had proposed. Doing anything now would be going against all his principles.

Suddenly Naoki froze in his steps. _Why was he even considering that in the first place!?_

' _Bloody hell, I'm going crazy,'_ he thought as a shudder went through his body before he resumed walking to school. He was a boy now and he had no idea how that would work. Besides, what was his option? Xanxus? _Like hell!_ The bastard was bloody infuriating and Naoki had more the urge to punch that annoying mocking smirk from that man's face than to… er, do _that_. He had also sworn to himself that he would not engage in any sexual activity of any kind, particularly with his young male body. He stubbornly ignored what had happened a few hours before. Besides, it was just a dream. _Just_ a _dream_.

As he passed by the school gate, Hibari and he exchange a glance in acknowledgement before he continued on his way. Tsunayoshi appeared late again, though Naoki did not miss the contemplative look his brother shot him as he sat down in his seat. Naoki frowned. Had something happened besides him getting molested by his teacher/night companion in the future? Reborn had mentioned that the bazooka exchanged the one targeted with his ten years older self for five minutes. Was that why Tsunayoshi was acting so strange? Had his future self done something weird? Well, it was a possibility; his future self _had_ to be crazy and mentally skewed to do _things_ with an older Xanxus, if what the older man had done to him in the future was any indication of where his future had gone.

Naoki's eyebrow twitched and a scowl made its way on his face. Why was he thinking of that infuriating man again?

"Sawada!" he looked up at the call only to see the teacher glaring at him.

"Hiiie!" came from Tsunayoshi. "Y-Yes!"

"Not, you! Sawada, the younger!" Well, that was a first. Usually Tsunayoshi was the one getting scolded. What had he done? "If you think you can do better then come in front and translate this in English!" Oh, it might have been his facial expression that had irked the man then. He had always been particularly neurotic and easily provoked; however, it was a first for Naoki to be on the receiving end of the man's temper.

Sighing inwardly, Naoki stood up and made his way to the board. The sentence was simple enough, well, maybe not for a normal Japanese student who studied English as a foreign language but Naoki was far from normal after all. English had been his native tongue once upon a time and he had retained the same mastery of the language through this life, disregarding the fact that he had also learned many other languages just to fight his boredom.

As he returned to his seat, the teacher seething behind him, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Naoki sat back in his seat and gathered his belongings; time to meet Hibari. He could not believe he had spent the whole day lost in thoughts as he battled within himself. That bastard had really done him good this time. He really needed that spar with Hibari to get all his frustrations out.

He was about to stand up from his seat when there was a commotion from near the doorway. At first he ignored everything until he heard a 'cow' being mentioned. Simultaneously, Tsunayoshi, who had also been packing his belongings to leave from a few seats in front of him, and he swirled around to find the cow child who lived with them, Lambo, standing just outside the door.

"Tsuna!" came the obnoxious, whiny voice. "My zipper broke so I can't pee!" It was then that Naoki noticed that the cow child was not standing straight but instead was hunched over with his legs pressed together and his hands holding his privates. While the class erupted into laughs and Tsunayoshi panicked, Naoki's eyebrow twitched. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and decided to ignore this complete idiocy. Instead, he walked to the other door and exited the classroom. Once he had loved children and had wanted to have his own; now he just found them annoying. It went to show just how much he had changed since his death.

Having to see the cow when he was at school made Naoki even more irritated than he had been. Thus, he quickly made his way to the roof even though he knew that Hibari would be busy until all the students left the school premises. Dropping his bag near the door, Naoki moved to the railing and leaned against it, looking over at the rest of the town. For such a day he had found his world tilting from its axis, everything seemed surprisingly calm and normal, like his perceptions of the world had not so suddenly been skewed.

Naoki sighed, resting his head against the cool metal the railing was made of. Why did things have to become so complicated?

* * *

It was a few days later after his little incident happening in his dreams that Bianchi of all people approached him. Surprisingly enough, since that night, he had not met Xanxus in his dreams. At first he had been relieved and somewhat thankful but as the days went by and he still did not meet the man he was starting to become a little agitated. He did not know why but not seeing the man made him irritable which made him even more annoyed when he realized.

It was early on that day when Bianchi intercepted him on his way to leave the house for school. Tsunayoshi was still sleeping in the bedroom beside his own and he could hear his mother preparing breakfast downstairs. The two of them had never really interacted with each other except for a polite greeting when they crossed each other in the hallways, so, Naoki was quite surprised when she came up to him.

Naoki raised a questioning eyebrow at the teenager. Bianchi was quite young, around seventeen, he guessed, and she fancied herself in love with Reborn. Naoki already suspected that the baby was either a genius baby or actually older than he look, maybe he even was in the same situation Naoki had found himself in, being reborn. Either way, it was still disturbing the obsession Bianchi had with Reborn. That was why he had always tried his best to stay away from the obsessed teenager.

"We are preparing a surprise party for tomorrow," Bianchi informed him after being subject to Naoki's disconcerting icy stare for a few moments, starting to fidget as the blond merely raised another eyebrow at her. "It's for Reborn's birthday."

Bianchi was surprised when the blond boy frowned a little at her after a while as if he had been waiting for something else and was disappointed in her. She did not know why but this disappointment made her feel disappointed in herself. It was unsettling. She had never really liked the younger teen; he had always been too quiet, too observant… just too much for the female hitman to handle. He was a civilian; his presence was not supposed to feel so overwhelming, but she had never acted against him, not only because Reborn seemed to like the kid but also because he was the twin of Vongola Decimo and the son of the Lion of Vongola. Doing anything against him would be like signing her own death warrant. Her actions against Tsuna did not count since Reborn had asked her to test his student when she had landed in Japan.

Without further acknowledging the older teen, Naoki turned and left. Bianchi frowned at the blond's retreating back. What a rude brat, she thought, ignoring the shivers wrecking down her back as she remembered the icy blue eyes staring into her own unblinkingly.

* * *

They were planning a birthday party, Naoki thought. A party for Reborn, he added silently, a frown making its way on his delicate features. As the day went by he noticed the strange behavior of Tsunayoshi's two closest friends and he could not help but frown even more. His brother had not noticed yet but Naoki knew that it was only a matter of time before he did; Tsunayoshi was not that unobservant, even though he had seemed a little lost in thought for a while now.

Knowing his brother, whom he never really interacted with before, Naoki knew that when he would notice his friends' strange behavior, he would believe that they were planning a surprise birthday party for him since their birthday was apparently the day after Reborn's. And knowing Tsunayoshi who never had any friend until Reborn had appeared in their lives, Naoki knew that he was most likely to be quite disappointed and hurt that his new friends had not cared enough to know or remember his birthday. Naoki actually found it a little silly but Tsunayoshi _was_ just a child, a child who had been bullied and hurt most of his life for being useless in practically everything and he had finally found _friends_.

It would be no surprise to him if their mother forgot about their birthday; she never really remembered every year anyway. Sawada Nana was a forgetful woman and the only things she remembered every year without exception were her wedding anniversary and her husband's birthday. She even forgot her own birthday and in thirteen years, she had remembered their birthday only eight times. That did not mean Tsunayoshi would not be hurt though.

At the end of the day, Naoki left the school after his usual spar with Hibari for a quick shower at his house before leaving again with half of his savings; he had a feeling he would not need them to leave the Sawada household in the future, even though now he had resigned himself to having become attached to his… family.

* * *

The next day, Naoki reluctantly postponed his daily spar with Hibari for later to return to the house early. As he ducked inside his room to drop off his bag, he noticed the orange package peeking from under his bed. His faced blushed scarlet and he quickly averted his eyes. He slammed his bedroom door behind him. A few moments later, the door opened again and a red-faced Naoki re-entered his bedroom, grabbed the orange package and ran back out.

Fifteen minutes later, he went down the stairs and reluctantly made his way where loud noises could be heard: the kitchen. He could already feel the incoming headache. He stopped before he could cross the threshold, hesitant and a little unsure about what to do. The kitchen was filled with Tsunayoshi's usual crowd helping out Nana with preparing dinner, or finishing helping, he corrected himself as he noticed the already prepared food resting on the table. Yamamoto Takeshi and Gokudera Hayato were setting the table, and Naoki was mildly surprised not to see the latter unconscious since Bianchi was helping Nana with transferring the food from the stove to the table. He had a feeling it had something to do with the pair of orange googles resting across her nose. Meanwhile, the cow child was whining at Nana's feet, tugging at her dress and demanding sweets.

"Ara, Nao-kun! You're here early!" exclaimed Nana as she noticed her younger son hovering at the entrance of the kitchen. Naoki shifted a little awkwardly on his feet, his face gaining a mild red hue as he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of so many pairs of eyes.

"Juudaime's Honorable brother!" exclaimed Gokudera and it took all his will power for Naoki not to lean back at the abrupt intensity of the green-eyed stare.

"Yo, Naoki!" greeted Yamamoto with his patented grin on his face, raising a hand in a small wave.

Bianchi nodded at him in greeting but otherwise stayed silent as Lambo quickly quieted and ducked behind Nana. Said woman gave Naoki a radiant smile.

"The kitchen is all yours, Nao-kun!" she chirped before she turned to the others. "Come, everyone. Let's leave Nao-kun to his cooking."

In a matter of seconds, Naoki found himself alone in the kitchen. That woman was quite adept. However, that did not stop him from hearing the different comments from outside the kitchen.

"Cooking?" _Bianchi_.

"Juudaime's Honorable brother knows how to cook?" _Gokudera_.

"Haha! I wonder what he's going to make." _Yamamoto_.

"Oh, Nao-kun is such a wonderful cook!" _Nana_. "He made a delicious cake once and last night he told me that he would make Reborn-kun's birthday cake."

"So that's why you said not to make a cake?" _Bianchi_.

"Hai! You guys are going to love Nao-kun's cooking! Ara, Lambo-kun, are you alright?" _Nana_.

"… Naoki-Baka is going to bake!?" _Lambo_.

At the last one, an eyebrow twitched on Naoki's face in annoyance before he sighed and turned to the rest of the kitchen. Well, time to get baking.

* * *

An hour later, Naoki slipped out of the house with an overnight bag, just missing Tsunayoshi and Reborn coming from the other way.

* * *

When they all finished dinner, Nana brought out the birthday cake. Tsuna felt inwardly a little hurt but he really should have expected no one to remember his birthday; he was Dame-Tsuna after all. Now though, that everyone knew that the next day was his birthday, he felt even more of a loser; it was like he was demanding his own birthday party. He sighed but then fixed a smile on his face when he saw Yamamoto and Gokudera turn to look at him. There was no need to worry his two friends.

"Thank you for everything, mama," Reborn said from beside him. "You didn't have to do all this."

"Ara, you don't have to thank me, Reborn-kun," his mother smiled. "Besides, Nao-kun was the one who made the cake."

"E-Eh!?" Tsuna exclaimed in surprise, having not expected that. He remembered the last and first cake his brother had made. It had been delicious but since, Naoki had not made anything else. Tsuna felt a little jealous that his own brother would go out of his way to make something for his tutor.

"Really?" Tsuna had become enough used to his home tutor that he was able to notice the slight surprised tone in the baby's voice though he was sure the others had not noticed. "Oh, speaking of Nao, where is he?"

"Nao-kun said that he was going for a sleepover with a friend," Nana explained with a smile.

Tsuna blinked. He had never known that his brother was close enough with someone to have a _sleepover_. He had never seen the slightly younger boy interact with anyone before.

"Friend?" Reborn asked from beside him. Huh, even the baby hitman had not known it would seem. Now, that was new.

"Hai! What was his name…? Oh, that's right, Hibari Kyoya-kun!"

Tsuna promptly chocked on air. "Hi-Hibari-san!?" he shrieked. Since when were those two friends!? Since when did Hibari-san even have _friends_!?

"Oh? That's interesting," he heard Reborn murmur from beside him and Tsuna felt like tearing his hair out. It was not interesting; it was a disaster waiting to explode!

Then Nana finally placed the cake on the table and Tsuna got a good look at it. He felt himself momentarily freeze in surprise though the others did not seem to notice (he knew Reborn had to have noticed, however). The cake was large and round, and covered in brown icing that from where he was Tsuna could smell was coffee-flavoured. At the top was written 'Happy Birthday Reborn' in English in white. He knew enough of the language to know what it meant.

However, what really surprised him was not the mouth-watering smell coming from the cake but the cartoonish tuna drawn under Reborn's name, in which was written something simple but made Tsuna feel an unknown emotion that made his mouth dry as his heart clenched, his eyes gaining some moisture; inside the tuna was written the number '27' in a vibrant orange. Tsuna knew without a doubt that this cake was made with two people in mind and that he was one of those two.

From beside him, Reborn hid a satisfied smile behind his fedora. Things were coming along nicely. He ignored the warm feeling he felt in his heart.

* * *

That night when Tsuna finally retired to his room after a tiring time spent celebrating Reborn's birthday, 'Vongola style', he was surprised to see an orange package resting on his bed. Curious, he went to it and opened the package. As he saw what was inside, he gasped, his eyes widening in disbelief.

It was a laptop. A real _laptop_. He opened the box and found the laptop inside, his fingers wonderingly caressing the vibrant orange cover and a very familiar cartoonish tuna with a '27' inside. That should have cost a lot! As he moved the orange gift wrapper, a small card fluttered to the floor. Kneeling, Tsuna picked it up. It was an unassuming white card on which was written a simple 'Happy Birthday Tsunayoshi' in English. It made Tsuna's breath hitch. There was only one person he knew such beautiful cursive handwriting would fit.

A few months before, he never would have expected a birthday present from his brother but since Reborn had entered his life, many things had changed, among them his relationship with Naoki that suddenly looked up. Now he had friends, he was no longer being bullied at school (at least not to the extent it had been before; he was still teased by his schoolmates when his two friends were not near him) and his life was much more exciting than it had ever been before. Moreover, he had never seen his mother so cheerful in a long while; his father's absence really affected the mild mannered, oblivious, gentle woman but their new house guests certainly brought life back to their dreary household.

Turning to his tutor who had been observing him silently since they had entered the room, Tsuna could not help the warm, bright smile from being directed towards the baby and the one person who had become his closest friend and confident in his life without him realizing.

"Thank you, Reborn. For everything."

As he turned back to his new laptop, excitedly flipping through the guide book and silently wondering how he could ever beat such a great gift, he did not see the stunned expression on his tutor's face or the sudden red hue that rose on the baby's cheeks.

Reborn was surprised and confused when his heart did a sudden flip. And for weeks he would remain equally confused until a certain prison escapee would target his young student and he would have the revelation of his life. However, for now he dismissed his strange reaction to his student's smile and gratitude as being unimportant.


	11. Chapter Ten

That night as Naoki slept in one of Hibari's guest bedrooms, his body aching from the hard work out the two had spent hours doing from the moment he had arrived at the prefect's house, he found himself in a familiar dreamscape. At first he was surprised and then oddly enough relieved, before he became slightly hesitant. How was Xanxus going to act towards him after the previous incident? He really was not looking forward for being mocked about the way his… body had reacted.

With a resigned sigh, he made his way to where he knew the man to be. Well, there was no point in hiding and avoiding the inevitable. He was anything but a coward.

As he rounded the corner, body tense and ready for anything, he found red creeping across his face as his eyes caught sight of the familiar figure lounging across the throne-like chair. Red eyes snapped open before locking on his still, frozen form. Naoki suddenly found himself feeling really small. Then, slowly, deliberately, a smirk made its way across the scarred face. The blond took a step back as wariness filled his mind. His eyes narrowed and he loosened the tense muscles in his legs, ready to bolt any time, particularly if Xanxus tried the same things as during their last encounter.

However, fortunately, the man instead shot a quick, "defend yourself," at him before attacking him. Naoki stubbornly ignored the alien feeling of slight disappointment that rose at the back of his mind.

This particular fight was quite different from any of their usual ones, even the last one during which Naoki had been preoccupied by what had happened in the future and what he had been forced to do because of it. This time, their fight, though as vicious as their usual fights and Naoki was able to hold his own far longer than the first time around, there was an undercurrent of tension between them; each time they parried, switched from defense to offense or even dodge, their eyes met, skin brushed against each other and they remembered what had happened between them the last time they had seen each other.

Naoki's body did not help either; the excitement he felt at the fast-paced fight, the adrenaline coursing through his veins and his hammering heart, added to his fresh memories of their last encounter, together made a certain newly-despised part of his anatomy _react_. It was not long before he was red in the face, breath coming in short pants and with slightly dilated pupils; none of this had to do with the physical exertion his body went through.

Xanxus was an assassin and had been in the mafia for years, so being observant was a given when one wanted to live in such a world. Thus, it was to no real surprise that he noticed the peculiar effect their fight had on Naoki's teenage body. He had decided even before the boy appeared that he would not be too forward; it would not do to frighten the kid before Xanxus could even begin his plans after all. He wanted to _make_ the brat come to him; what a better way to infuriate that idiot Iemitsu if his own son chose Xanxus above everything and everyone else?

Now, however, having such a young body practically calling for him, Xanxus could say, well, F—k it. He was never one to plan ahead anyway; it was more something he let the damn shark take care of. What ever really mattered to him was him and he always took what he wanted when he wanted. And he had already decided to make the brat his anyway. Thus, the next time the brat went to attack, Xanxus grabbed the boy's small wrist and threw him at the nearby wall.

The impact took Naoki's breath away and before he knew it, as he steadied himself on his feet, he suddenly found himself trapped between the wall… and a smugly smirking Xanxus. Naoki stiffened in apprehension, readying himself for whatever the older man would throw at him. However, he never expected the moment Xanxus grabbed his wrists and pinned him to the wall, his larger body trapping him in place.

Naoki struggled fruitlessly but his body could only wriggle in place. He would have continued his struggles if not for the fact that Xanxus abruptly pressed his body against him which made a certain part of his anatomy rub against the other man. He immediately froze. He felt apprehension fill his mind as Xanxus' smirk widened.

Then slowly, deliberately, Xanxus rocked his hips against him. Naoki gasped, feeling the other man rubbing against the place between his legs since when the older man had pinned him, he had found himself between Naoki's slender legs. The result was that as Xanxus rocked slowly into him, certain organs were pushed together, rubbing languidly and driving Naoki crazy with the sudden pleasure coursing through his body.

Naoki felt that the man was mocking him in his body's reactions and he felt indignation fill up his thoughts. He did not appreciate being mocked and he refused for what had happened the last time to repeat itself; he had been powerless as the older man did what he wanted to him. Naoki refused to make the other believe that he could just do anything to him without repercussions. He was not subservient, least of all towards such an irritating bastard.

Maybe it was the pleasure that made him react in such a way, clouding his judgment at the completely foreign yet familiar feeling filling him up, but whatever the reason, Naoki completely forgot his reservations. Before Xanxus knew what was happening, Naoki wrapped one of his slender legs around the taller man's hips before the other followed. As he stiffened his legs, he watched the other man's red eyes widen slightly when their lower halves grounded together. He shot the man a smirk of his own, feeling particularly smug as he saw the man's pupils dilate and his nostrils flaring.

However, maybe he had not thought it well enough, as the next thing he knew, the two of them were in a battle of wills, trying to see who could undo the other first as they violently thrust their hips together. He did not know when but Naoki was able to free one of his wrists and with his free hand, he fisted the Xanxus' black hair none too gently and pulled his head back to glare at the equally glaring red eyes as he felt the man's now free hand slip beneath his clothes to scrape his back. As his other hand was freed, Naoki immediately wrapped his free arm around the man's shoulders to keep his balance. He definitely did not expect feeling a large hand grab one of his butt cheeks and… _squeeze_.

Naoki gasped and groaned, his head falling to rest against one of the man's shoulders as pleasure skyrocketed and Xanxus' hips sped up. The hot arm around his back tightened and Naoki felt like he was burning, particularly as the other hand slipped inside his pajamas trousers that he had gone to sleep in, and cupped his bare butt, long rough fingers slipping between his cheeks to then rub against his entrance, never really breaching pass but still applying slight pressure. He gasped and moaned, feeling the hairs on his arms standing on end, shivers of pleasure wracking his body. This proved to be too much for him as, with a shudder, his vision went white, pleasure like he had never felt before in this life exploding.

He felt the other man twitch against him, hot breath grazing his ear as the two of them came down from their high. Then, not wanting to be in this position longer than necessary, Naoki gave a sharp tug at Xanxus' hair before he unwound his legs from around the older man. Body still affected from their little _tryst_ , it took his hold on the other man's coat to prevent his legs from buckling underneath him. He twitched as he felt Xanxus remove his hand from his trousers though he was confused why the older man kept his other arm around Naoki's bare back.

What had happened mere minutes before finally dawned on Naoki and horror and self-disgust filled his mind. He could not believe he had just done _that_. Was he so pathetic that he let his body control his actions? He was no better than a common _whore_! Just accepting to do something like that with that – that – that infuriating man with barely any resistance!

However, before he could push the other further away from him, he felt his world go black, and he could not be more thankful to find himself back in the waking world.

… Now, to deal with what had happened.

Oh, dear.

* * *

As the brat disappeared, Xanxus threw his head back and laughed. This was going to be far easier than he had at first thought. The little shit was a feisty little thing but really responsive to his advances. Maybe for now the brat did not want it, but with time he would come _crawling_ to Xanxus.

Sawada Iemitsu was going to have a conniption. This was getting better and better.

… And the brat made such _interesting_ expressions when being undone.

* * *

He had actually done it. He had _actually_ done it. Naoki had actually done it; he had given in. He could not believe just how easily he had gone against his reservations, against everything he had believed and his resolutions. And what for? To satisfy his teenage body and hormones? Like he had thought right after waking up two days before, he was no better than a common whore. Particularly if it was suddenly alright for him to just do _that_ with a man like _him_.

Well, Xanxus was a definite looker, true, but that did not excuse his actions. He was a boy now, damn it! This simple fact should be enough to turn him off until he died again. He could not imagine sleeping with a woman and the simple fact that he was a boy made sleeping with a man so much different and… weird.

And damn weird it was. His body had reacted in a way completely different from his previous one; either Xanxus was really good or his body was particularly responsive. Or both. Either way, he had _liked_ it and was even thinking about doing it again if he ever got the opportunity. Yes, it was _that_ good. As dirty and ashamed he felt, he wanted more.

Well, he had known that he was a completely different person from whom he had once been in his previous life, so maybe it was finally time for him to let go of a part of the past. He was not naïve enough to believe that he could just move on completely from his past but… maybe, just maybe he could try to be someone else instead of yearning for what had long been gone.

It was not like he would suddenly end up in a relationship with the older man; he knew that Xanxus did not particularly like him and he neither held any positive feelings towards the man. He did not feel like suddenly declaring his eternal love for the other; he still wanted to wipe that smug smirk from that bastard's face, so he knew that everything was purely physical at the least. This was definitely not something he would have done in his previous life but this just proved that he had really changed since then.

He was a new person, with new believes, and apparently new tastes.

However, no way was he just going to let that annoying man do as he pleased. He would never _ever_ submit to anyone and if that smug bastard believed that Naoki would ever just do what he wanted, then he had another thing coming.

* * *

**Extra**

It was the weekend when Naoki found himself knocking on the door of a large Japanese-styled mansion. Another weird kid had been added to their household and the Sawada residence was too loud for his tastes, particularly as the new child, a little Chinese brat, enjoyed getting into fights with the resident cow child. Those two together was so loud that Naoki just had to leave the house early in the morning. He was itching for a good fight, so when a particularly familiar (physically) older boy opened the door, it was to no surprise that he immediately went into the offensive. The other boy shot him one of his bloodthirsty grins before he dove into their fight in earnest.

A couple of hours later found the two boys panting and nursing wounds, having relocated in a large dojo-styled room sometime during their fight. Hibari sheathed his tonfas and turned his back on Naoki. Kusakabe Tetsuya, who had appeared half-way in their fight approached with two bottles of water and two towels, which he handed to the two of them.

"Sawada Naoki," came from the Head Prefect who did not even bother to turn back to said blond-haired boy. "You need to expand on your fighting skills."

Naoki gained a contemplative look as he gazed down at the bottle in his hands. "What do you propose?" he finally asked. He knew that Hibari would actually help him in becoming stronger, if only for the simple fact that he wanted more of a challenge in their almost-daily spars. Naoki knew that he was lacking as since he had begun fighting he always relied only on his fists and he did not even have a real style so to speak. Through trial and error (and lots of pain) he had made a form for himself that could serve as both defensive and offensive, without leaving any openings, and it had served him well all this time, though he still needed to improve.

However, hand-to-hand was all well and good but he needed something more to spice up his fighting style. It would have been better if he knew even a little martial arts but he had a feeling that they were not for him. He could add guns to his fighting style but he did not think Hibari would appreciate him bringing guns to school. He liked using guns but he needed something more but he knew that he needed a secondary weapon.

He had no idea what, though so he left that for Hibari. The boy was surprisingly good at judging what kind of fighting style was good for someone. He did need to know what his little minions needed to be competent in their work after all.

With that in mind, Naoki turned on his heels and left after a "come back tomorrow" from the other, feeling particularly content with this day's spar. Even if he had interrupted Hibari's patrol routine. He knew the other would make him pay, but what could be better than a good spar he would have to work really hard not to get himself concussed?

* * *

Naoki could not help but stare, Hibari, not far, smirking smugly at his dumbfounded expression. In front of him, in one of Hibari's dojos, was a wall covered with a wide a ray of weapons displayed, be they guns, bazooka, or even naginata or tessens. Naoki had been more than surprised when the Head prefect had shown him the empty dojo, before pushing a small button on the wall for said wall to swing open and reveal… _that_.

It was impressive. It was like being in some kind of spy movie or something, and kind of made him excited to be able to wield one of those weapons. As Hibari walked up to the wall, Naoki impatiently waited for what the physically older boy had chosen for him. The black-haired boy by-passed the guns, the swords, and even the war hammers, before picking up something that made Naoki deflate and wonder if the other was actually serious. In Hibari's hand was a thin and small pointy object. Yes, it was a throwing dart, though much thinner than Naoki had ever seen before. It was smaller and thinner and Naoki knew that the pointy tip would without a doubt hurt.

"That?" he asked dispassionately.

Hibari glared. "Yes, that."

He never expected to like the unimpressive, whimpy little thing.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Naoki stared at the purple, flickering flame around his hand, ignoring the laughing coming from Xanxus in the background. It was night again and the older man had decided a couple of weeks before that their usual night lesson would be a little different from usual. Instead of immediately attacking him the moment Naoki had appeared in that strange dreamscape, Xanxus had remained seated on his throne-like chair and told the blond that he was going to tell him a little more about the mafia.

The youngest Sawada later found that 'little' was more than an understatement.

First he started telling him about how the Mafia world was structured and the hierarchy they followed. He learned about their own law enforcement force and by Xanxus' descriptions, Naoki knew that he would prefer never having anything to do with them. He also learned more about Vongola, more than he could have known by himself since not even Tsunayoshi knew everything yet.

Apparently the Mafia organisation was at the top of the Underworld and the current Boss was 'an old wimpy trash who was going to bring the Family to ruin'; Xanxus' words, not Naoki's. Xanxus was apparently supposed to inherit the Family but because of something, the dangerous man did not mention what but the blond felt curious nevertheless – his intuition told him that it would be better not to ask if he valued his life – he was instead the Boss of an independent assassination squad.

_(Naoki stared at his companion, looked at him up and down while he took in his dangerous aura and could not help but let a small snort. Yes, he could definitely picture the man in that position.)_

The fact that Tsunayoshi instead was selected as the next Boss worried Naoki. From what Xanxus told him, not only was the current Boss supposed to choose his successor but also the current Head of another independent squad/organisation (Naoki was not sure what the older man said but at that time he did not care). The fact that _Iemitsu_ was said Head and that _he_ had chosen to put his own _son_ in that situation enraged him. From what Naoki could see Xanxus was much more ready to lead an f–king mafia organisation than _Tsunayoshi_ , the wimpy, too kind-hearted _teenager_! His disgust towards his biological father increased as he realised that that idiot was even more involved with getting his own family in danger.

Then after the older man told him about the hierarchy of the Mafia, Naoki was told of the… power they used, otherwise known as the Dying Will Flames; it was the same flame he had seen on Tsunayoshi's forehead that one time and the one from when they had been younger, but more than that, it was a similar flame from _that_ time.

To say Naoki was curious about those flames would be an understatement, so Xanxus explained to him about the different flames, their attributes and how to harvest them.

_(He really should have known that it was a little too strange for the man to be so cooperative. At that time Naoki was too busy worrying about those flames and absorbing all those informations that seemed so far-fetched to notice the smug smirk on the bastard's face to realise that the man was plotting something.)_

However, all of this had happened two weeks before and on that night Naoki had finally been able to activate his own flames. The fact that they were _purple_ made his situation fascinating, though he still did not understand his companion's glee. This was Cloud flame, he noted, thinking back on all the information the older man had given him.

At the beginning of this new type of training, Xanxus had tried having the blond activate his flame without any conduct, since they did not have any in this realm. Because of this, Naoki's training had slowed to a stop as he tried every night, and the times he was awake and free, to activate said flames. Nothing had worked. That was, until Xanxus became impatient and physically attacked the blond.

_(Naoki was surprised the dangerous man had even waited this long before trying anything.)_

This time, however, there was a huge difference in their usual sparring; Xanxus actually aimed to kill and Naoki realised the huge gap in skills there was between them. It did not take long at all for the blond to feel cornered and desperate, feeling like he was facing his death all over again, and that was when the purple flame ignited.

_(He learned then that that was exactly what Xanxus had been aiming for, meaning that he had not actually been aiming to kill the blond. Naoki absent-mindedly wandered what it would have been like if Xanxus had… Yeah, better not think about that.)_

With Xanxus still cackling in the background, Naoki gave a sigh, the purple flame flickering out.

* * *

Naoki scowled as he stared down at his hand, his feet absent-mindedly dragging him to his house well after school had ended and his daily spar with Hibari. He had been trying to ignite the purple flame for days after it had happened in his dreamscape and he found that he could not do it again. It was bloody _infuriating_ and Naoki felt like stomping to his dreamscape to shake that bastard Xanxus. Why was it not _working_!?

He was still scowling down at his hand, murmuring curses under his breath in all the different languages that he knew when someone suddenly stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

"I'm sorry but only someone of the Sawada family is allowed through," he heard above him. Already incensed by his failure and the fact that he was – ahem – _frustrated_ since nothing like _that_ had happened since the last time with Xanxus because of their change in training schedule, Naoki looked up, eyes pulled into an icy, blue, freezing glare. The man in front of him dressed into a black suit and sunglasses, along with different, similarly-attired men behind him, seemed to pale right in front of him as they automatically stepped back and made a path for him.

With no more obstacles in front of him, Naoki walked right up to his house and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Outside, the Cavallone men released a sigh of relief as the scary teenager disappeared, some of them feeling like they would have soiled their clothes if the unknown blond had remained a little longer. That was one terrifying child. They did not realise that said terrifying child had entered the house they were supposed to watch.

… Naoki had spent a little too much time with the Varia Boss. It would seem like Xanxus was even starting to influence his character.

* * *

Naoki was just passing by Tsunayoshi's room, still fuming when the two youngest of the household almost ran him over, if not for his quick reflexes. Eyebrow twitching in annoyance, Naoki turned on his heels and followed the children into his twin's room, ready to give them a good lesson about manners. What he did not expect though was to find the cow child trip and two pink grenades being clumsily thrown from his hands to the window. It was then that he noticed the additional people in his brother's room, people he had never met but had a feeling was connected to the men standing outside their property. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow as the blond man who had been sitting in a large arm-chair jumped dramatically out the window… with a _whip_.

Reborn, who had most likely noticed him even before he had entered the room, shot him a smirk in greeting, even as Tsunayoshi, who for some reason was sitting on the floor near the door, shrieked and as two dark-suited men stared after the blond man in what Naoki could perceive as pride and admiration.

He was not close enough to the window to see what was happening outside but he did hear the explosions and Tsunayoshi as he exclaimed how 'cool' the blond was.

"Now you understand?" came Reborn's squeaky voice as they both stared out the window. "The Mafia Boss is ready to risk his own life to save his Family members." As Tsunayoshi shrieked Naoki could not help the deep scowl from forming on his face. No; Tsunayoshi was _not_ going to risk his life for _anyone_ if Naoki had anything to say. He would _not_ let that happen.

With a deepening scowl, he turned on his heels and swept from the room, shooting the two children who were still there a _look_ that made them scurry away.

* * *

Naoki had taken to rarely eating with everyone else since that time Lambo had stolen his food – childish but who cared? – so it was only the next day that he officially met Reborn's guest. It was again in the evening and he was returning to the house after school, a good spar with Hibari and spending the rest of the time trying to ignite those purple flames in vain. The previous night Xanxus had told him about those 'flame resistant' weapons that were supposed to be used to make it easier to use the flames and Naoki had half a mind to ask Reborn to get him one. How he would explain that to the baby Hitman though, he had no idea.

The sun was setting when he arrived at his house and he really felt like having a good long shower after his day. When Reborn's squeaky voice called him from Tsunayoshi's room though, it was not like he could ignore him for said shower... as tempting as it was.

When he entered the room he was somehow not surprised to see the blond man from the day before with the baby but he was surprised by the fact that his brother was apparently absent.

"Ciaossu, Nao," greeted the dangerous baby even as the blond man looked between the two of them with a bewildered look on his face. He was promptly ignored.

Naoki nodded back in greeting before he asked, "Where is Tsunayoshi?"

"Mama sent him out for groceries," Reborn chirped back. Naoki blinked.

"At this hour?" he deadpanned.

"Yes. Why? Worried?" came the smirking retort.

"No," he scoffed back and looked away. Coincidentally, his eyes fell on the other blond who was practically gawping at them. He raised a delicate eyebrow, icy blue eyes dragging his gaze up and down the stranger, taking him in and evaluating.

"This is Dino, the Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia. He was my student before I came to Japan."

_Student?_

Naoki stared at the other blond with new eyes, because surely if that person had been Reborn's student then he should be great now, right? Then said blond stood up with a cocky smirk, stepped forward to greet Naoki… before promptly tripping over nothing and falling on his face. Naoki stared. He turned incredulous eyes to the Hitman and raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"He is also an idiot and practically useless without his subordinates," the baby added cheerfully.

Naoki looked at the ceiling as if asking for hope. Why was Tsunayoshi surrounded by idiots?

* * *

"Trash, you're still f–king struggling with this?" a certain annoying person asked boredly and Naoki scowled. It would seem that had become his default expression these days. It could not really be helped though; there always seemed to be something that annoyed or irritated him and even sparring with Hibari hardly provided sufficient release. Having to deal with _Xanxus_ , who was _the_ most infuriating bastard Naoki knew, was the icing of the cake, particularly since that man just loved to mock and annoy him even more.

"It's not like you actually told me how to do it!" he snapped, not looking up from his hands, still trying to ignite them again after that one time a few days before.

"Don't tell me you're that f–king pathetic that I have to f–king spoon feed you," Xanxus drawled. It took all his self-control not to snap back at the man again; it would only be counter-productive as the two of them would just end up fighting the whole night away, and he would lose another night of training and the cycle would start all over again.

What would he give to wipe that smug smirk from that bastard's face, to fight him on equal footing and made him realise that Naoki was not one to be messed with. He was not a plaything and that bloody Xanxus was going to regret – _regretregretregret_!

Purple flames flashed and burst around his hands. He smirked.

A snort. "Took you long enough."

The blond twitched. _That bloody infuriating bastard_ …

* * *

**Extra**

Christmas was a small affair for the Sawada Family and guests. Only their house guests and the three Sawada were present though Tsuna's friends did pop in briefly before leaving. He had been waiting for this day since his birthday, though he would prefer not to mention why (he knew Reborn knew though; since when did that Spartan tutor not know anything about Tsuna anyway?). He was embarrassed but since, well, it was for Naoki… However, he bravely swallowed his embarrassment as he sneaked downstairs in the middle of the night on the eve of the twenty-fifth of December to place his gift under the Christmas tree.

It had taken him months to think about what to get Naoki and he had saved as much as he could but he still only got a little something he thought would go well with his brother.

He did not see the amused smirk on his tutor's supposedly sleeping face.

As he reached the landing, he made his way to the living room where his mother and the children had placed and decorated the Christmas tree.

… He definitely did not expect to see Naoki entering from the opposite side of the room. They both froze, identical deer-caught-in-headlights looks of their otherwise very different features. Simultaneously, their eyes dropped to the package in each other's hands before looking back up. Almost in synch, red burst to their faces and they looked away.

Awkward silence.

There was along moment before anything happened; Naoki walked to the tree like nothing, carefully dropped his package with the other presents there before he turned on his heels and left. (Tsuna had a feeling Naoki was fleeing but, no! His brother was not one to _flee_.) As he was left alone in the dark, Tsuna let out an almost silent 'hiiie' in embarrassment at what had just happened before he too dropped the present under the tree and rushed back to his room.

When Tsuna ducked under his covers, face flushed, Reborn's smirk widened.

* * *

If Tsuna had a new shiny, orange headphone with a similar design as the one on his laptop and Naoki started walking around with a silver necklace with a fang-shaped amethyst dangling at the end, no one mentioned anything.

Nana only hid a fond, knowing smile behind her hand.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Naoki gasped, his back arching slightly as the fingers inside him wiggled and brushed against something that made pleasure shoot up his spine. He groaned, digging his fingers in his companion's back. He felt the arm around his waist tighten minutely even as he collapsed against the broad chest in front of him.

It was like a switch had been flipped. No sooner had Naoki been able to voluntarily summon his flames than Xanxus had been all other him, and instead of their nightly sparring, they engaged in some… other kind of _fighting_. Not that Naoki was complaining. All of this was new to him and he was still getting used to do this with his current body – yes, all of this happened in his dreams but since everything that happened to him seemed to carry over to his physical body, it was like he was actually physically participating anyway.

It was all strange and weird but as he was beginning to realise and learn, definitely in a good way. Yes, everything was different, even though there might be some things that were still the same from when he had been female, but the point was, he was more than a willing participant in their nightly activities.

They never actually went all the way since, psychologically speaking, Naoki was still adapting, but that did not mean they did not have their fun.

As Xanxus' face neared his Naoki tilted his head away. The older man barely paused before latching onto his neck. He shuddered, eyes closing as teeth nibbled at his sensitive skin. This was definitely going to leave a mark. Hopefully, Reborn would not see anything.

Gosh, he felt like a teenaged girl having a tryst with her boyfriend and fearing her father finding out.

…That was more than creepy. And embarrassing.

* * *

Life became a routine all over again but not exactly boring. How could one be bored with someone like Xanxus in their life?

* * *

And then _it_ happened and everything came crashing down.

* * *

As Naoki rounded the corner, a small body collided with him with a small 'oomph'. He took a small step back, arm automatically latching on a much smaller arm to prevent the small body from falling backwards. It was Fuuta, the newest addition to the household and as the boy realised what had happened, he looked up at Naoki with big doe-like eyes and slight red cheeks.

"Sorry, Naoki-nii," he said. Naoki only nodded, patted the boy on the head lightly and continued on his way.

To be frank, among all the children Tsunayoshi and their mother had taken in, the blond definitely preferred little Fuuta. He was quiet and polite, and criminally all snuggly and adorable. When faced with the child, Naoki could not help but uncharacteristically wish to bundle him up in cotton and lock him in a tower somewhere. Which was strange since Naoki did not particularly like children or people in general.

What he hated though, was the knowing, amused smirk Reborn had on his face every time Naoki and Fuuta found themselves in the same room, so the blond just kept his distance. However, he was much nicer to the kid than he had ever been to anyone in this new life.

Tightening the laces of his sneakers, he finally left the house and made his way to the busier part of the town for the bookstore; the book he had ordered a month before was finally there and he could not wait to incorporate his new ideas into his fighting style. Who knew Naoki would have started to like those wimpy senbons Hibari had showed him?

Those senbons were his style, as he had come to realise a good while after he had started to use them in their sparring sessions. They were discrete and could be hidden in bulk on his person. Unfortunately they could not deal a lot of damage and if they did they had to be particularly precisely used. That was why Naoki was going to see if he could add a little upgrade to those senbons.

He had gotten the idea from watching Bianchi; the idea of adding poisons to his senbons was quite appealing. That was why he had ordered a book on complex chemical and how to break them. Even the thought of making his own poisons made him excited and he could not wait. He needed knowledge before starting anything though; it would not do for him to poison himself before he really even started. Having a lot of money on the side was quite advantageous and Naoki was considering making his own since if he continued to go the way he was going his reserves would dry up fast.

For now though, poisons! And antidotes just in case…

He crossed the street and turned around a corner, continuing on his way to the bookstore. Lost in thought, he did not see the person coming the opposite way until they both crashed into each other. Naoki inwardly cursed; he had been a little too absent-minded on that day. First, Futa and now some stranger.

"Sorry," he said quietly, not looking up as stood back up from where he had fallen after having collided with the stranger.

"Kufufu, it is quite alright," a silky voice replied in front of him. Startled, Naoki took a small step backwards as his head shot up. That familiar laugh…

As his eyes locked onto heterochromatic eyes, eyes that held a _very_ familiar look, a name fell from his lips.

When those same eyes flashed with confusion before realisation and surprise, Naoki was too stunned to react as his vision blacked out.

* * *

" _So?" a smiling blond-haired girl asked, dark blue eyes glinting in mischief._

" _So what?" an almost identical girl, except for the darker shade of blond hair, asked._

_The other rolled her eyes, jumping on the couch beside her sister to lie on her stomach. Propping her head up to stare at her sister, she grinned. The other girl ignored her and flipped a page of her book._

" _Honesty!" the girl whined._

" _Orchid!" the other girl mock-whined, eyes not leaving her book. A groan left Orchid, even as Honesty's lips twitched in a suppressed smile. Then a giggle left Honesty's mouth. She closed her book, giving up on the pretence, and turned to her sister. "You want to know how our date went?" she grinned, her eyes sparkling with happiness and cheer._

" _Yes!" the other squealed, bouncing on the couch to settle on her knees in front of her sister. "You've been talking about him for so long that I want to know if he's good for you or not! What kind of sister would I be, really?"_

_Honesty rolled her eyes, a laugh bubbling up her throat. "You just want some juicy gossip."_

_Orchid shrugged her shoulders, a cheeky smile pulling at her lips. "Well, that too."_

_Honesty laughed again before she said, "Well, after he picked me up we went to the café where – "_

* * *

The scene wavered briefly before disappearing completely. Naoki, who had been staring at the familiar, nostalgic scene, frozen in place, suddenly found himself standing in a deserted, lone field of dirty, dried grass. He shuddered, wrapping his arms around him while his heart battled with conflicting emotions.

"So it really is you after all," a voice murmured behind him, an unreadable emotion bleeding through each word. Naoki whirled around, legs automatically bending slightly even as his arms spread defensively. Then his eyes caught sight of the person in front of him and he stiffened, his wild eyes widening in disbelief and shock.

"Y-You…" left his mouth, first in disbelief, then, "you!" in anger. "You bloody bastard!" he shrieked as he lunged himself at the person in front of him. If his words rang with anguish, Naoki would prefer to ignore it. Before he could reach the other, vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around his body, restraining him, his fingers stopping mere inches from the other's unreadable face.

"Honesty – " he started before Naoki cut him off.

"Don't you dare 'Honesty' me, you filth! It's all your fault! All your – aaargh!" he screamed, body thrashing as he tried to break free from his restraints, if only to wrap his fingers around that annoying neck.

"Will you at least listen to me?" the other's eyes flashed dangerously but he miraculously only pursed his lips in supressed irritation and frustration. "Just let me explain –"

"Explain what!?" Naoki snarled, lips pulling into a feral sneer. "That you could not keep it in your pants so much so that it ended with me getting murdered by my own sister!? I trusted you, you bastard! I trusted you!"

"Will you just listen to me!?"

"I don't want to hear anything from you! Now let me _go_!"

There was a momentary pause before heterochromatic eyes turned cold and expressionless. "Then I suppose I will just have to keep you here until you listen to what I have to say." With that the other disappeared in flickering indigo flames that Naoki vaguely registered as being mist flames from Xanxus' descriptions, leaving the blond to stew in seething anger and surprise. He did not even seem to register when the vines around him fell away.

In the silence, he let out a long, drawn-out frustrated and angered shriek.

* * *

It was only his worry that prevented the fear and hysteria from bubbling to the surface. As a matter of fact, apart from the worry, he found himself strangely calm and composed, even as his friends came back to him to inform him that no, they had not found his brother yet. Reborn's constant shadow and weight on his shoulder was comforting, even as he wondered how he was going to explain to his mother about Naoki's disappearance. Well, he could lie, like he lied about the Mafia but he could not help but feel that this was also Mafia related. And he could not help but blame himself. After all, he was the one who had put his brother in this situation by being involved in the Mafia in the first place. Besides, if he had taken Reborn's training more seriously from the beginning he might have been able to prevent this situation.

It was a few days after Naoki's disappearance and still nothing from him. At first they had not been particularly worried since Naoki always came and left as he saw fit, sometimes even in the middle of the night. But when it was reported that some Namimori Middle students were being attacked, it was understandable that Tsuna would find himself slightly worried. He had even gone to see Hibari to wonder about his brother's whereabouts.

The prefect had seemed busy and even more murderous than usual, most likely because the peace of Namimori was being disturbed, but he still begrudgingly informed Tsuna that he had not seen the blond in two days.

Tsuna had a feeling that Naoki's disappearance was related to those assault cases and when he had mentioned this to Reborn, the baby had thankfully taken him seriously. However, unlike the other cases where the assaulted victims were found beaten and with their teeth extracted, Naoki was nowhere to be found.

The victims had all been prefects at the beginning, with the exception of Naoki. Tsuna at first thought that maybe someone just wanted some revenge on Hibari. It was likely, even if he had a feeling that this was not the case. And then again, Fuuta was also nowhere to be seen. Then Sasagawa Ryouhei was attacked and Hibari left and did not come back.

' _What should I do…?'_ Tsuna asked himself, fingers fisting his hair tightly, head tilted towards his bent knees.

Not far, Reborn stared at his student and pursed his lips, inexplicable irritation and anxiety tightening in is chest.

…His phone rang.

* * *

He did not know for how long he stayed in that field. Hours? Days? It did not matter as Naoki was not going to move. He refused to listen to that – _that_ person. He did not care about what the other wanted to say or even how it was possible for the other to be there in the first place. All he cared about was the fact that the other was the reason he was in this situation in the first place. His feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger that he had been able to bury had resurfaced and he could not help but seethe.

Those he had come to care about – Tsunayoshi, Nana, Reborn, Fuuta, heck even Hibari and Xanxus – did not matter anymore as he spent his time pacing along the dead field, feeling frustrated and angry but with no outlet for these negative emotions. After a while though, he could do nothing but wait and his pulsating emotions became subdued. Oh, they were still there, just waiting under the surface, but he was no longer letting them control him; he was no longer blind and irrational.

So he sat down and thought about his situation. He had been kidnapped by _him_. He did not know here he was but this place that had not changed in the slightest since his arrival was most likely an illusion or even a dreamscape like the one he often found himself in when he met up with Xanxus. In other words, he had no idea where his physical body was. He had no contact with the outside world so he either had to wait for help to come or he was to find his own way out. He was not too keen on the previous option; he was not some damsel in distress who needed to be rescued! The second option, however, was a little tricky.

The question was, how was he going to make his way out?

From what he was able to theorise, _he_ controlled mist flames which dealt a lot with illusions and the mind. In other words, Naoki's only way out was most likely through _him_.

_He_ was there, somehow. He had no idea if _he_ ended there in the same way Naoki had found himself being reborn. Naoki did not know the technicalities but maybe he could use their history together to get out of there. He was not one to be imprisoned and besides, did _he_ not say that _he_ wanted to explain _himself_? Maybe he should listen to _him_. If only so he could leave and never have to see _him_ again.

Thus, when the heterochromatic eyed male appeared again, Naoki waited for the other to explain himself.

"Mukuro."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

It was an oddly calm but quietly seething Tsuna who silently pushed the decrepit door open, his baby tutor a silent comforting weight on his shoulder and Bianchi following not too far. He had to leave behind his friends and even the girls had been put in danger when they had nothing to do with this.

When Reborn had told him that the Ninth wanted him to capture a criminal who had escaped from the mafia prison Tsuna had had half a mind to refuse until his tutor added that said criminal was most likely the one who had attacked those prefects and kidnapped Hibari, Fuuta and Naoki. Something had literally snapped in him and it did not take him long to decide to go after this Rokudo Mukuro. Tsuna knew he was weak, that he was a coward and particularly _Dame_ , but there was no way he would let anyone hurt those precious to him, especially if he could help it.

He did not react when Reborn called Yamamoto and Gokudera to accompany them on their mission, mind on Hibari who was never supposed to be brought down, on sweet little Fuuta who was too nice to hurt and on Naoki, his own brother. He could not let them get hurt, not when he was the reason why Rokudo Mukuro even came to Namimori. This made him hate the mafia even more. It was because he was being forced to become the tenth boss of a mafia family that an unknown criminal was coming after him through those he cared about. He never wanted this in the first place.

Then his mind went to his friends and he felt himself becoming conflicted; after all if not for the mafia he never would have met them or become friends with them in the first place.

…He never would have met Reborn.

Shaking his head, he clenched his jaw; it was not time for this. He was to save Fuuta and Naoki and find out where the heck Hibari was, because nothing could bring down the older teen. ( _It was only the faith he had in Hibari that made him keep hope that the older boy was well. He did not know what he would do if the strongest person in Namimori was suddenly defeated…_ )

"I'm very happy that we could meet again," a familiar voice drew his attention to the other side of the room where the remains of a stage was. On it was an old couch but what made him stiffen in surprise was not the fact that the older teenager he had met before fighting Lancia was sitting there but the fact that _Naoki_ was lying against him, seemingly unconscious. Tsuna had never seen his brother so vulnerable before; he was dressed in the clothes he had been wearing the day he had disappeared, his hands resting lifelessly in his lap and his head lolling against the unknown boy's shoulder.

There… there was something wrong. His first thought was that the two were being held hostage in that cinema room… but he had a strange feeling that there was something wrong with this situation, something that made him instantly wary as strange heterochromatic eyes fell on him. He wanted to rush forward and check on his brother but he had a feeling that this would be a very, very bad idea.

His lack of action might have warned Bianchi though as she suddenly stiffened defensively and pulled up her guard. Reborn did not react but Tsuna had a feeling that his tutor was equally wary.

Tsuna's brown eyes narrowed and he unconsciously took a small step back, dragging Bianchi with him by the wrist. Warily, he starred as the older boy regarded him in open amusement, a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Who are you really?" he finally brought himself to ask, eyes unwittingly darting to his unresponsive brother in worry.

The other boy's smirk widened. "Rokudo Mukuro, at your service." Then he added in a purr, "Why don't you come forward so that we can get to know each other better, Tenth Vongola Boss?"

Tsuna gritted his teeth and glared. "What did you do to Naoki? Where are Fuuta and Hibari?"

Mukuro's face suddenly blanked. "The one you call Noaki is mine now and not returning to you anytime soon; the birdie is none of your concern anymore… and as for the child," His smirk returned and he purred, "Well, why don't you find out for yourself?"

That was when Tsuna noticed Fuuta not far but… there was something wrong – _wrongwrong!_

* * *

The fight lasted too long in Reborn's opinion, but there was nothing he could do about this. He had been expressly ordered not to interfere and if he did it would go against his contract. The Hitman was surprised by how much all he really wanted to do was to jump in and deal with Rokudo Mukuro himself. It was only because of his self-control that he was able to stop himself. Barely.

His fingers dug into his palms as he watched the criminal and his very own student fighting. If he could he would be forcing Leon to hurry up and pop out Tsuna's new weapon already.

He usually did not particularly care about anyone and if he did he would not be on the verge of panicking as he was if said person was put in danger. He was more than surprised when he found himself worried and fearing for Tsuna as the boy fought his greatest and most dangerous fight yet.

Rokudo Mukuro was good but Reborn would not have been the greatest Hitman in the world if he failed to notice how the teenager was acting; he purposely moved the fight away from where they had found him when they had entered the room, away from the unconscious Naoki. Moreover, he had a feeling that the boy was not fighting to the best of his abilities. Whatever the reason though, Reborn was thankful as Tsuna would have been in even more danger.

Reborn hated not knowing things, and he hated it even more now, when Tsuna was fighting for his life and his brother's, and he had no idea why Mukuro wanted to hold Naoki in his possession, even going so far as to keep him from the fight. He did not know, but he was going to find out.

* * *

The fight ended spectacularly, with Rokudo Mukuro and his little gang being taken by the Vindice. And God, Reborn did not wish to have Tsuna in the same room as _them_ ever again. They were dangerous and Tsuna… was just too kind, totally unsuited for the mafia but at the same time, Reborn could not be prouder; his student had really grown up since the first time they met. Seeing Tsuna go into Hyper Dying Will mode had made a warm glow appear in his chest and that was when he realised just how much his idiot student meant to him.

It went against his contract –he was supposed to always stay neutral until Tsuna was officially made into the Vongola Boss – and his ethics – he was never supposed to become that attached to anyone, not with his current job occupation – but there was nothing he could do; he was already in too deep.

* * *

"What's _wrong_ with him?" his voice came out in a croak, his eyes wide in fear and worry as his fingers twisted his T-shirt spasmodically. Tsuna was exhausted and all he wanted to do was drop on his bed and sleep for three weeks straight, but how could he when _his brother would not wake up_!? The medical team had come as Reborn had said and Tsuna could not have been more relieved but then whatever they did, Naoki still would not wake up. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, Tsuna would have believed the worst. But still, _why would he not wake up_!?

They were dragged to the hospital where Shamal was waiting with an uncharacteristic serious look on his face; the doctor had taken Naoki to a hospital room and had remained there for an hour. Tsuna had been unable to follow and if not for Reborn's comforting warmth beside him he knew that he would have been even more hysterical with worry than he already was.

His body hurt and he felt like he was going to drop anytime soon, proven with how much his hands were shaking which had nothing to do with his worry and more with his exhaustion and pain. He needed to sleep off the tiredness of the fight with Mukuro and his gang but Tsuna was stubborn; he could not leave until he knew what was wrong with his brother. It was his fault the other was in that state after all.

He felt Reborn's eyes turning momentarily on him before turning back to stare at the door behind which Naoki was. The baby had been silent since they had left Kokuyo Land but Tsuna could not be more thankful for his continuous presence beside him. God, what would he do without Reborn? Well, the Ninth would have most likely sent someone else, someone not Reborn and maybe even worse than his current home tutor. He shuddered; yeah, he preferred Reborn, even with his sadistic tendencies and questionable teaching methods. Now that he had him, Tsuna could not imagine a life without the other.

The sound of a door opening brought him from his thoughts. His head snapped up and he practically jumped to his feet as he saw Shamal exiting the hospital room. He stiffened; the frown on the doctor's face was not encouraging.

"Sh – Shamal-san? Is Naoki alright?"

The doctor sighed and ruffled his hair. "Well, physically, he is. But mentally…"

"What do you mean?" Reborn asked beside Tsuna. The teenager felt as if he was being engulfed in water, the rest of the conversation seemed to take place behind a barrier, separating him from the other two, even as his attention zeroed in on Shamal.

"The kid is trapped in his own mind and whatever I do, I can't reach him. That illusionist is a really good one and even I can't break through whatever he did."

"So?" Reborn frowned beside him and Tsuna swayed on his feet.

"The only way for him to wake up is if the illusionist lets him go himself; there is nothing I can do."

And Tsuna's world went black.

* * *

Naoki eyed the other as heterochromatic eyes looked around dispassionately. Well, didn't the look wonderful? Naoki asked himself sarcastically, eyebrows rising as he eyed the other. To anyone else his companion would have appeared normal but Naoki knew him enough to notice the almost invisible dark shadows under his eyes and the haunted look in his heterochromatic eyes. Whatever had happened while Naoki was trapped in this place was affecting the other and despite himself – despite his hatred and need for revenge – Naoki could not help the slight poignant worry that pulsed momentarily through him. He frowned.

"Honesty," the other greeted, heterochromatic eyes turning back to him. "Are you ready to hear me now?"

Naoki crossed his arms and glared. However, he did not attack like the last time they had seen each other. He merely raised an expectant eyebrow and drawled, "Quite."

"How about we sit down and talk?" the other asked, gesturing towards the two armchairs that suddenly appeared in a flash of indigo flames.

"I'd rather not," Naoki deadpanned, remaining where he was. "How about you just get on with this?"

Mukuro sighed and it seemed so tired and resigned that it made Naoki pause for a moment, another tinge of worry pulsing through him, which he promptly ignored in favour of shooting the other another questioning look.

"Honesty, I never meant to hurt you," he started, eyes staring at him with unveiled pain and sincerity. That was so uncharacteristic of the Mukuro he knew who was usually mischievous and cunning that it made Naoki pause again and frown.

"You still did."

"I know but it was never supposed to be like this."

It was only because of this raw pain and sincerity in the other eyes and voice that Naoki did not burst out in rage. Instead, he gathered all his negative emotions and locked them away and sighed, plopping down on the closest armchair. Mukuro followed suit and sat down on the opposite one.

"Then w-why –" As his voice cracked, Naoki pursed his lips, took a breath and then continued, " _Why_ did you do it? I trusted you, Mukuro; I _loved_ you."

Mukuro flinched at that but Naoki did not feel any vindictive pleasure at the other's pain. "I –" he licked his lips before continuing. "I loved you too, Honesty –"

"Then, why? You _cheated_ on me, with my own _sister_!"

"I know! I –"

However, Naoki did not give the other time to continue as he interrupted him again. "You proposed to me, Mukuro. We were supposed to get married. Why did you do that!?"

"Because I loved Orchid too!"

Silence.

"I – I loved Orchid too, but I never thought this would happen. I never wanted to hurt you, Honesty. Never. I was going to break it to you gently, but Orchid… I don't know – something went wrong. Orchid – she – she changed and I don't know why or how but she changed and something was wrong, and I did not notice until it was too late –" He stopped and took a deep breath before he continued, mindful of the completely blank expression Naoki was directing at him. "I loved you. I truly did but… but…"

"But you loved her more," Naoki finished; his voice bland and flat even as his eyes roamed Mukuro's anguished face.

Mukuro buried his face in his hands and whispered, "I am sorry."

Naoki stared at him some more before he sighed, eyes looking away as his body relaxed from its tensed position. "I would have cancelled our engagement if it would have made you two happy."

"I know…"

Naoki closed his eyes, feeling a lump in his throat which he swallowed with some difficulty. "What _happened_?" he asked, his voice cracking with his overwhelming emotions.

Mukuro looked up. "I don't know. Something went wrong with Orchid. I –" There he swallowed and continued, "I f-found you on that day. I came to tell you everything but I –" he let out a shudder. "Instead I found you two in the kitchen; Orchid as screaming and laughing and crying, and then y-you – God! You were such a _mess_ and I could not do anything and Orchid, she –" He let out another shudder and Naoki huddled in on himself, wrapping his arms around himself. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Naoki looked away.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Naoki did not know for how long he remained curled up in his place in the armchair. Mukuro was long gone and yet he remained there, lost in thought, his feelings leading a conflicting battle in his mind. They both needed time apart to think and resolve their issues without the other influencing them. He was… tired. He had held on to his hurt, anger and betrayal towards Mukuro and his once-sister for so long. He had never thought before that he would ever get to face his past after spending so much time as Sawada Naoki but it would seem like he never could really escape his past as much as he had thought.

Everything had started to look up; he had finally accepted his place as Sawada Naoki, son of Sawada Nana and brother of Sawada Tsunayoshi. His previously non-existent relationship with his brother was starting to look up and he was almost starting to  _like_  his place in the world. He was  _making_  a place for himself in this new world. Reborn had appeared in their lives, bringing with him endless chaos but also filling up the cracks in their lives they had never noticed before. There was also Xanxus, the most infuriating man Naoki had ever met and yet he was also the man who had opened up a new purpose in his life.

And then Mukuro had appeared, forcing all his setbacks to resurface and making him face his past once again. This time, however, it was not just having to accept his death and betrayal, but now Naoki was also faced with the one person who started it all, the one person he had given his heart and  _soul_  to… and who had still betrayed him.

He tightened his grip around his legs and buried his face in his knees. He did not know what to think anymore. All he wanted was to put everything behind him, to not allow his past to hold him back anymore. He wanted to go back to his house where his mother and brother were waiting for him, to Reborn, to sweet little Fuuta… to annoying but gradually more tolerable Xanxus.

He just… he wanted to go home.

* * *

When Mukuro appeared again, Naoki was ready for him. One moment everything around him was the same as it had been for however long he had been trapped in this place and then, in the next, there he was. Naoki took a moment to really take in the other, making observations that during his anger and hurt he had completely dismissed. Stubbornly ignoring the world-weary look in his once-lover's eyes, Mukuro looked younger than the last time they had seen each other in that other life that for a moment seemed so far away. And yet, despite his apparent young age, Mukuro was just like he remembered him, his hair pulled up in that queer look that he had always favoured. He was dressed in the green uniform Naoki vaguely identified as the Kokuyo Middle School uniform, though worn like a stereotypical Japanese delinquent.

His dark bangs hanged over his shadowed eyes, eyes that had always been of dual colours but Naoki could not help but take note of the  _kanji_  in his red eye; he would have known if that had been there before. However, it was not the strange eye that drew his attention but the way those dark eyes immediately shuttered in defeat the moment Mukuro took in whatever expression Naoki might have held at that very moment.

Sardonically, Naoki could not help but think that even after all this time and how much they had both so obviously changed since the last time they had been together, Mukuro could still tell his thoughts just by looking at his face.

Slowly, deliberately, Naoki uncurled his form and stood up from the armchair. The air of defeat around Mukuro deepened until he hunched in on himself and his eyes turned resigned. That… was so unlike the strong, undefeatable man he had once known and fallen in love with that, that for a moment, Naoki faltered in his steps before he forced himself to straighten and continue what he was determined to do.

"I'm not going to see you after this, am I?" Mukuro's voice stopped him in his tracks.

Naoki's face twisted and he gritted his teeth together, feeling both pained and indignant. However, as he spoke, his voice remained level and calm; he had already made up his mind and they both knew it was inevitable. "I can't forget what you did to me, Mukuro. It might not have been your hand driving the knife in me but it might as well have been. I cannot forget; I never will." Mukuro flinched violently at his words but made no move to refute his claims. He… just accepted them, his inborn fighting spirit having evaporated when faced with Naoki's ire.

Never before had he ever seen and felt such… defeat from the other. He remembered Mukuro as that always confident, perpetually mischievous man, but at this very moment, as Naoki gazed at the older, he saw none of the confidence or utter joy of life that had once been synonymous with Mukuro. All he saw was a beaten and crushed young man. It was that – along with the love in his heart that he had never truly been able to fully stifle and crush – that made the next words leave his lips.

"I may not forget," he continued quietly, "but maybe… maybe one day I can learn to forgive you, given time." As he talked, he turned away from Mukuro, arms coming to hug himself as he tried to simultaneously pull away from his own feelings and comfort himself from the anguish and agony seizing his heart. He could not look at Mukuro at that moment; he could not watch as hope filled the other's eyes. He knew he would break down again if he did. He had to let go; he needed to move forward with his life… They both did.

There was a long pause during which neither said a word, both lost in their memories – memories of a better time – a time when they had been happier, when life had been easier and a joy to live, when they had been in love and carefree… when they had planned and planned for a future together because they had been so in love with each other they would have given anything to  _be_  together.

"This is goodbye then." It was not a question. It was a statement. As Mukuro appeared in front of him, Naoki realised that he meant that it was a 'goodbye' to their relationship, to their past, to what they had once been and held dear, if only so that they would both be able to finally move forward as Naoki wished. And as the blond turned to face the other, his eyes locking with blue and red, he could not help but sag. His body – or what could be considered as his body in this dreamscape – released all the tension it had held from how high-stung he had been since meeting Mukuro again after so long.

"Yes," his voice felt as if coming from a distance, "this is goodbye."

It was goodbye, goodbye to a past that was never to be again.

He did not know who moved first but, honestly? It hardly mattered.

Mukuro's lips were as soft as he remembered as they pressed against his, soft and gentle in their affections. Naoki arched under the other's hands, a certain desperation in their actions as they both clung to each other as if it was the last time they would ever be together like this… because it was. It felt so familiar the way they explored each other with careful consideration and yet so foreign because neither was like either remembered.

Naoki discovered new scars on Mukuro, ones that had never been there before and that a distant part of him felt alarmed by. But in that moment when they reconnected, he could only disregard his concerns because they had no place in this ritual. Mukuro discovered his new body and both took their time to learn just how different Naoki was now and how different his reactions were to when he had been a woman.

The moment Mukuro entered him, Naoki gasped, tears welling up in his eyes, not because of the slight, completely foreign pain of the intrusion, but because he knew… he knew that while this was their first time together like this, it was also their last and he could not help but bask in the way Mukuro made him feel cared for, his hands and actions gentle and loving as they had once been.

If only… If only…

As they whispered and gasped and cried each other's name – in love, desperation… anguish – it felt as if they were saying something else altogether: everything they found themselves unable to voice aloud – their love for each other, a love that neither would ever be able to fully make disappear; their hopes and fear for the future… their pain and disappointment at a missed present and future, one they had dreamt together.

If only… If only…

_Goodbye... Goodbye._

* * *

After being trapped in this isolated dreamscape, Xanxus had become used to the idea of having the Sawada brat appear, and much more so when instead of meeting once in a blue moon, it started to happen almost daily. Thus, when Naoki failed to appear for what appeared to be a full week without any seeming reason, Xanxus was understandably annoyed. If the brat did not come then who or what was supposed to alleviate his boredom? And then after their  _other_  arrangement, Xanxus was even more understandably annoyed but also frustrated. How dare the trash make  _him_  wait?

_(He stubbornly ignored – or was it that he did not even notice? – the slight worry he felt at the other's disappearance.)_

And then  _it_  happened.

It had been another day of complete boredom and solitude in this unchanging dreamscape, Xanxus lounging on the frozen throne, when the stone wall opposite him flickered. Red eyes immediately snapped to the place just in time to see the wall fade out to make way for another landscape. Instead of the stone wall, Xanxus found a field opening up to him. However, what caught his attention was not the change in scenery… but the two writhing figures on the ground in front of him.

As lips met in desperation, red eyes narrowed and flames  _roared_.

* * *

In a dungeon in Italy, ice cracked and  _shattered_  under the assault angered flames.

* * *

On that day, as he made his way to his special patient's room just as he had done for the last two weeks, Shamal had to admit, silently and to himself, that he did not expect much. Sawada Naoki had been trapped in an illusion so powerful even he was unable to free him. The only way would be for the caster to free him willingly but to be honest, Shamal was not holding much hope. Rokudo Mukuro seemed like such a nasty piece of work, and with a grudge against the whole mafia world. It was just unfortunate for the boy to have found himself in the crossfire. The youngest Sawada was just a civilian still, even with his father and brother in the mafia, but this situation highlighted again that even civilians were not safe from the mafia world.

When he entered the young Sawada's room, he expected to find the young teenager lying in the hospital bed, unresponsive as he had been for the past few days. He expected having to check the boy's vitals and condition again like every morning. He did not expect to find one Sawada Naoki sitting upright in his hospital bed, looking right as rain, though for some reason slightly contemplative as he stared out of the opened window. Shamal unwittingly froze at the threshold of the hospital room, his mind for once stunned speechless.

After all… the only reason the boy could be up would be because Rokudo Mukuro had let his hostage go  _willingly_.

* * *

Reborn had many questions that he wanted answered but he held himself back as Tsuna threw himself at his surprised brother, tears streaming down his face. Noaki reacted by awkwardly and uncomfortably patting his brother on his back to try to comfort the blubbering teenager. Tsuna tightened his grip on his brother and sniffed in Naoki's shoulder.

It would be unfortunate for the rare moment between the brothers to be interrupted and Reborn would forever deny that it was because of his student and the part of himself that softened when Tsuna was near that stopped him from immediately flinging questions at the previously comatose teenager.

No, Sawada Naoki would not be able to forever evade the World's Greatest Hitman, and Reborn really wanted so many questions answered.

_(Why had Mukuro cared enough not to hurt the boy during the fight against Tsuna to stay away from Naoki? Why had Naoki being there been enough to distract Mukuro during the fight? Why had the fugitive let Naoki go after all this time when he could have used the boy as a way to get Vongola to get him out of Vendicare? Why was it that when he woke up Naoki seemed… lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders?_

_Why was Naoki holding such a melancholic look on his face…?_

_Why? Why? Why?..._

_There were so many whys and Reborn would have the answers if it was the last thing he ever did.)_

* * *

**Somewhere in Italy**

" _VOIII!_  Boss!?"

" _Boss!?_ "

"The f-k is going on!?"

"What the-?  _How_!?"

"Trash."

There was a sudden silence through the chaos that had prevailed through the room the moment a certain man had appeared through the door.

"Prepare to take over Vongola. We're going to Japan."

No one cared enough to question the boss as to his reason. After all,  _their Sky was back_.

* * *

**Ten Years in the Future**

A white-haired man laughed and laughed and laughed as another of Vongola's headquarters blew up in flame.

"Come to me, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I am waiting."

_A part of him broke and cried and screamed._

_He ignored it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally the new chapter. I'm so sorry it took so long. Hopefully the next update for this story won't be taking as much time. Thank you to all those who have been waiting since I last updated. I really hope this chapter is to your expectations and, yeah, I left it on a cliffhanger again...
> 
> Please, tell me what you think. I agonized over this chapter for so long that now I really hope it turned out alright. God, I've been waiting to write this since very beginning and now it's finally here!
> 
> Do leave behind a comment and tell me your thoughts.
> 
> Leight


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